Palaro puts spotlight on Ilokano champions, emerging athletes

2 weeks ago 16

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

ILOCOS NORTE, Philippines – Ilokano athletes who have brought honor to the province in national and international arenas will lead the symbolic beam lighting during the opening ceremony of the Palarong Pambansa 2025 on Saturday, May 24, in Laoag City.

These athletes hail from various sports disciplines: athletics, archery, trap shooting, basketball, baseball, and softball. They’re all regarded as pride of the Ilokanos for their excellence in sports.

Here are some of the Ilokano athletes expected to take center stage during the event curtain-raiser of this year’s weeklong grassroots event:

Jesson Ramil Cid (decathlon, heptathlon)

Dubbed the “New Iron Man” at his peak, Jesson Ramil Cid is a native of Dingras, Ilocos Norte. He began his journey in the 2007 Palarong Pambansa, where he placed third in high jump in the high school division.

In 2013, a 22-year-old Cid won gold in his decathlon debut in the Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar. He broke the Philippine record with a score of 7,038 points, surpassing the 6,963 points set by Fidel Gallenero in the 2001 SEA Games.

Cid also set a national record of 4,565 points in the heptathlon, finishing eighth overall, In the 2014 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships. His record stood for nearly a decade before it was eventually broken by Janry Ubas, who scored 5,246 points to claim the bronze medal in the 2023 edition.

In the succeeding 2015 SEA Games in Singapore, Cid brought home a silver medal in the decathlon.

Currently, Cid serves as a physical education instructor at Mariano Marcos State University in Batac City.

Roger Tapia (para athletics)

Pagudpud’s Paralympian Roger Tapia, born with a speech impairment and no left arm, started his sporting journey in local events, including the 2008 Palarong Pambansa.

He won gold in the 400-meter race and two silvers in the 100m and 200m running events in the 2011 ASEAN Para Games in Indonesia.

A year later, Tapia represented the Philippines in the 2012 London Paralympic Games. He proudly competed in the T46, designated for athletes with single arm impairment, in the 100m and 200m events.

In the 200m race, he clocked 23.74 seconds in heat 2 and did not advance to the final round. He also finished in sixth place in heat 3 of the 100m event.

Aside from athletics, Tapia is a bowler who won silver in the Cambodia Open Para-bowling Championship 2024.

Eric Ang (trap shooting)

Another outstanding Ilokano athlete is Olympian Eric Ang of Laoag City. He represented the Philippines in the men’s trap shooting of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, finishing 35th in the preliminary rounds with 108 points.

In 2019, Ang, along with his Philippine teammates Carlos Carag and Alexander Topacio, secured a gold medal in the men’s team trap shooting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games held in the country, with 338 points.

Edgardo Daquioag Jr. (basketball)

Edgardo “Ed” Daquioag is a Filipino basketball player born in Dingras, Ilocos Norte.

After starring for the UST Growling Tigers in the UAAP, Daquioag began his professional career in the PBA in 2016, playing for the Meralco Bolts until 2017.

Daquioag, who also represented the Philippines in the 2016 FIBA Asia Challenge, suited up for several PBA clubs: Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (2017-2019), Blackwater Bossing (2020-2021), Terrafirma Dyip (2021-2024).

Since 2024, Daquioag has been playing in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL), a regional pro basketball league founded by boxing legend Manny Pacquiao. He played for the Pangasinan Heatwaves in the 2024 season and currently sees action with the Parañaque Patriots.

Palaro 2024 medalists from Ilocos Norte (archery, athletics)

Young national games champions Jemmuel James Espiritu and Mark Anthony Domingo will also take center stage during the beam lighting in the opening ceremony.

Espiritu of San Nicolas won the 30m archery gold in the secondary division of the 2024 Palarong Pambansa in Cebu. He recently graduated from senior high school at San Nicolas National High School.

Another promising young Ilokano athlete from Piddig, Domingo clinched a Palaro gold in the 800m and silver in the 1,500m running events of the elementary division.

Ilocos Norte junior baseball, softball teams

The province’s best elementary baseball and softball athletes will also be featured during the opening program.

The baseball team has collected awards and secured high rankings in the Philippine series of Little League Baseball at both the regional and national levels, the Region I Athletic Association Meet (RIAA), Palarong Pambansa, and the Babe Ruth Baseball National Tournament. The team bagged bronze during the 2023 Palaro in Marikina.

One standout player, Gerick John Flores from Currimao, Ilocos Norte, joined the Philippine team in the 11th Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) U12 Asian Baseball Championship in Matsuyama, Japan, where he earned the Most Stolen Bases award.

In softball, the team has also brought home recognitions from the Little League regionals and nationals, RIAA, and Palarong Pambansa. The team won gold in the 2023 Palaro in Marikina.