I got the opportunity to watch the table tennis event at the Palarong Pambansa. I noticed that an unfamiliar delegate I have not heard years back when I was a participant myself of the said event - National Academy of Sports
I did a quick search on google and learned that the National Academy of Sports is a government funded school that only came about in 2020 at the time of President of Rodrigo Duterte. Currently, the school is open only to high school students and the is more inclined towards honing the students skill on sports.
And oh boy, they played very well at the Palarong Pambansa. To think that the school only came about 4 years ago and to see the players playing at such a high level, I am very impressed. One of their player beat a national youth player!
The school has a lot of potential and if they continue on their trajectory, they may pose themselves as the country's preferred school of choice for those students who wanted to excel in sports.
I heard that NAS athletes are exempted from provincial and regional meets. They go straight to Palarong Pambansa. Is this true?
National Academy of Sports athletes don't participate in any provincial and regional athletic association meets. They probably have their own qualification tournaments in their school systems to determine which gets through to the Palarong Pambansa.
Quite unfair if they go straight to Palarong Pambansa without going through athletic meets
That's amazing to hear! The National Academy of Sports may be relatively new, but it’s clearly making a strong impact already. Beating a national youth player just four years in is no small feat. With the right support and continued development, they could truly become a top destination for young Filipino athletes.
Which player from NAS beat a national player 4 years ago. I've believed Brent Chavez lost to a NAS player in the bracket games but that was in 2024 I believe in Cebu.
