PSC readies National Games reboot

PSC chairman Dickie Bachmann during the SEA Games send-off ceremony. MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

After falling off the radar for quite some time, the Philippine National Games (PNG) will again showcase the best Filipino athletes across the country.

Three regional qualification meets for the PNG near the end of the year are in the pipeline for the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) prior to the culminating national championships in the first quarter of 2024.

“We have to make sure our grassroots sports programs go in the right way. Our goal is to eliminate the gap of grassroots to the elite and that is through connecting them to the national sports associations (NSAs),’’ said PSC Chairman Richard “Dickie’’ Bachmann.

Hungry for recognition

There’s no better way to recreate that connection than to revive the PNG, the only multisport tournament in the country where national team players get to prove their worth while competing against lesser-known athletes who are hungry for recognition.

Nearly a thousand athletes normally compete in 48 sports calendared in the PNG, which was last held in Cebu City in 2018.

Several NSAs adopt the PNG as their annual national open championships to test the competence and fitness of their current crop of athletes and discover new talents as well.

“It is our goal to touch every single province in the country and provide a comprehensive program for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao,’’ said Bachmann.