NCR takes 18th straight overall crown; Agusan del Sur is 2026 Palaro host

LAOAG CITY – It was a poetic ending for the 2025 Palarong Pambansa after a week of grueling competitions under the scorching sun across Ilocos Norte, with the National Capital Region flexing its might once again and taking home its 18th consecutive overall title in the annual grassroots tournament.The Big City ran away with 117 golds, 70 silvers, and 50 bronzes to rule the 65th edition of the meet, a huge improvement for its total medal haul since last reaching the 100-gold mark in 2018 Vigan.With NCR being crowned as of press time during the awarding ceremony set at the Centennial Arena, the delegates are now looking forward to a better performance when they fly to Agusan del Sur for the 2026 iteration.Leading NCR were swimmers Titus Sia and Sophia Garra who delivered historic efforts to complete their seven-gold sweept in the elementary boys and girls, respectively.Both 12 years old, Sia and Garra became the most bemedalled athletes after winning all of their events in the tournament organized by the Department of Education and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission.And despite falling short in the secondary boys 5-on-5 basketball where Davao region hoisted the trophy, National University-Nazareth School (NUNS) bounced back and swept the back-to-back champion Bacolod Tay Tung of Western Visayas, 25-12, 25-14, 25-8, in secondary girls volleyball.Sprinters Jeralyn Rodriguez, Pi Durden Wangkay, and Cris Ivan Domingo gave an extra push with record-shattering acts alongside gymnast Arman Hernandez Jr. and swimmer Patricia Mae Santor with their respective golden performances.Meanwhile, Dasmariñas woodpusher Mar Aviel Carriedo won six golds in the secondary boys chess after bagging the individual and team events of blitz, standard, and rapid to help give CALABARZON's medal bid an extra push that earned them a total of 47 golds, 68 silvers, and 66 bronzes.Barefoot runner Trixia Anne Tolentino’s three gold mints added fuel to Western Visayas’ (44-53-58) run inside the Top 5 of the list, and ahead of Davao Region (42-28-36) and Northern Mindanao 31-26-46), which rose dramatically from its ninth place, 14-27-43 finish last year.