BALIWAG CITY, Bulacan. Montessori De Sagrada Familia once again proved that they belong to the national stage as the members of the Sagradan Vikings advances to this year’s 63rd edition of the Palarong Pambansa, which will be hosted by Marikina City LGU from July 29 to August 5 and will be participated by 17 DepEd regional athletic associations.
Veteran team captain Jewel Caroline Venturina, together with Azula Elise Villanueva, a very promising rookie, will don the flag of the Vikings as both of them hit the Qualifying Time Standards (QTS) set by the Department of Education in order to be included in this year’s athletic spectacle.
This will be Venturina’s third Palaro stint in her career while this will be Villanueva’s first to be in the big stage. Both made it to the Top 24 fastest qualifying standards all over the Philippines and are expected of a podium finish this Year.
Venturina will be competing in 50 Meter and 200 Meter Butterfly, while Villanueva will take a crack at the 50 Meter and 100 Meter Breaststroke respectively.
Vikings coach and trainor, John Michael Tangon, firmly believes that preparation is the key in this stage. According to Coach Mike, the team is doing a lot of work that includes doubles swim training and pace dive and turn until the third week of July to ensure that the aquanauts will be in superb shape heading into the national competition.
“NCR (National Capital Region) remains the heavy favorite to win, but we will not leave the event without doing our best and giving them a very good fight”, added Coach Mike.
Palarong Pambansa, one of the biggest annual national athletic meet, is making its comeback this year after it has been cancelled since 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic.
By: Vhon Joseph C. Solomon