ALAMINOS CITY — After back-to-back first runner-up finishes in the Region 1 Athletic Association (R1AA) meet in 2016 and 2017, Dagupan City finally ended its title drought when it bagged the championship in this year’s competitions held from Feb. 11 to 15 in Alaminos City.
Mayor Belen T. Fernandez and Dagupan City Schools Superintendent Lorna Bugayong, members of the Dagupan City Sports Commission and the entire Dagupan City delegation, received the championship trophy during the awards ceremony at the Alaminos City National High School Thursday afternoon.
The Department of Education Schools Division of Pangasinan 1 finished first runner-up with Pangasinan 2, the dethroned champion, winding up as second runner-up.
The point system was used in this year’s R1AA meet where gold medal was scored at five points; silver, three points; and bronze, one point.
Dagupan was adjudged as the top performing delegation in the secondary division while Ilocos Norte was the top performing delegation in the elementary school division.
Dagupan dominated the swimming event held in Dagupan City, accounting for 32 gold medals of the 54 medals at stake, which helped a lot in its quest for the R1AA championship.
Its basketball team also won in the secondary division. The official results in other completed events are not yet available.
It was Dagupan City’s first championship in the R1AA meet ever since.
As champion, it will field the most number of athletes who will represent Region 1 in the Palarong Pambansa slated sometime in April this year at the President Elpidio Quirino Memorial Stadium in Bantay, Ilocos Sur.
Fernandez said Dagupan had struggled long and hard to finally be recognized as sports power in the entire Region 1 given the fact that seven years ago, it was one of the perennial tail-enders in the R1AA meet. (PNA)
