PASIG CITY staved off a strong resistance from former champion Baguio with only a four-gold medal gap to complete a back-to-back feat in the overall championship race of the 2025 Batang Pinoy over the weekend in General Santos City.
The emerging sports powerhouse city collected 95 gold, 72 silver and 87 bronze medals for a total haul of 254 mints, proving an enough separation from the vengeful summer capital with 91-72-74 for a 237 total.
Pasig, governed by Mayor Vico Sotto, played catch-up ball to Baguio and Manila all throughout the competition last week at the country’s tuna capital before completing a last-ditch overtake by dominating its pet events in combat sports, gymnastics and chess.
Last year, Pasig ended the four-year reign of Baguio in Palawan and was not to be denied anew by harvesting 25 in gymnastics held in Manila, 10 in chess and six gold medals in jiu-jitsu for its second straight crown in the annual multi-sport competition for kids aged 17 years and below.
Completing the podium was Davao City with a 53-53-68 for a total of 174 as Quezon City (45-51-57) and Manila City (43-37-32) rounded out the Top Five.
The Top Five finishers from a total of 188 local government units (LGUs) as the biggest edition in the Philippine youth games history will receive P5-million, P4-million, P3-million, P2-million, and P1-million incentives, respectively, from the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) led by Chairman Pato Gregorio to fund their grassroots sports development programs.
Also in the Top 10 were Sta. Rosa City of Laguna (38-29-30), host GenSan (36-43-51), Makati City, (35-16-21), Cebu City (31-32-52) and Zamboanga City (27-18-15).
Bacolod City will host next year’s Games, becoming the only three-time host after staging the inaugural Games in 1999. The City of Smiles, which also served as home to Batang Pinoy in 2021, will be the first Visayan city in a decade to house the Games since Cebu in 2015. — John Bryan Ulanday
Pasig City wins back-to-back 2025 Batang Pinoy overall championship with total haul of 254 medals
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