BACOLOD CITY: Negros Occidental's provincial government awarded on Thursday a total of PHP901,000 in cash incentives to its athletes who won medals in the just-concluded 2024 Palarong Pambansa held in Cebu City. The amount consisted of PHP224,000 for elementary division medalists, PHP581,000 for secondary level winners, and PHP96,000 for paragames athletes. Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, who led the distribution of cash incentives in the presence of Department of Education officials at the Negros Residences here, commended the athletes, with their coaches, chaperones, and trainers, for bringing home a total of 87 medals - 31 golds, 34 silvers, and 22 bronzes. Each gold medal is equivalent to PHP5,000; silver, PHP4,000; and bronze, PHP3,000. The Negrense athletes, including those from various cities and municipalities in Negros Occidental and highly-urbanized Bacolod City, contributed to the third-place finish of Western Visayas, which garnered 56 gold, 41 silver, and 41 bronze medals. Among the most notab le gold medal winners from Western Visayas were the secondary girls' volleyball team from Negros Occidental, represented by Bacolod Tay Tung High School, who defended their title against the National Capital Region, the same opponent in last year's national sports event. Other medalists from Negros Occidental saw action in athletics, badminton, basketball, billiards, boxing, chess, football, futsal, gymnastics, sepak takraw, softball, swimming, table tennis, tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, and wushu. Source: Philippines News agency