POF Southern Tagalog
qualifying tourney on

LOS BAñOS. — Top athletes from Southern Tagalog vie for honors in the 3rd Philippine Olympic Festival Bicol leg starting Wednesday at the Freedom Park inside the University of the Philippines campus here.

A total of 1,354 athletes from 10 local government units are expected to compete in 17 sports in the event.

A torch relay will start the opening rites at 3 p.m. with POF chairman Robert Aventajado and UPLB Chancellor Luis Rey Velasco ushering the fifth and final qualifying stage of the festivities that will culminate in the national championships next month.

Cagayan de Oro City will host the national championships featuring the top performers of the qualifying legs in Central-Northern Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, National Capital Region and Bicol-Southern Tagalog.

"We will never stop searching for talents for the national team because someday, we know the efforts of the POF will finally bear fruit,’’ said Aventajado, also the Philippine Olympic Committee chairman and president of the Philippine Taekwondo Association.

Taekwondo has the largest number of entries with 300 jins followed by swimming (257) and football (180) in the games sponsored by Pagcor, Accel, Negros Navigation, Summit Mineral Water, AMA Computer College, Philippine Star and Creativity Lounge.

The On its third year, the POF hopes to address the supply of athletes for the RP Team that would hopefully quench the country’s

Athletes from Laguna, Batangas, Cavite, Camarines Sur, Naga City, Puerto Princesa City, Quezon, Masbate, Rizal and Oriental Mindoro together with 311 technical officials will participate in the BST qualifying won by Laguna last year.

Hostilities in football, table tennis, archery, arnis and sepak takraw begin Wednesday while medal-rich taekwondo, muay, chess and volleyball will start Thursday.