Tatlong sports ang may nakatayang medalya bago ang opening ceremony ng 5th PSC PHILSPADA National Paralympic Games sa Martes sa Marikina Sports Center.
Sinabi ni Philippine Sports Association for the Differently Abled—National Paralympic Committee of the Philippines (PhilSPADA-NPC Philippines) President Michael Barredo na lalarga ang boccia, chess at wheelchair basketball bago ang opening parade ganap na 4:00 ng hapon.
“Actually, today (March 27) up to the 29th of March will be the arrival of participants and the classification of entries. We will have the eliminations of three out of the 10 sports to be competed also starting on the 29th and then the rest of the sports follows up to the 2nd of April,” sambit ni Barredo.
Ang iba pang paglalabanang sports ay ang athletics, swimming, badminton, power lifting, goalball, table tennis at ang tenpin bowling. Hindi naman naisali ang sailing at archery.
Masasaksihan sa torneo ang limang national differently-abled athletes ng bansa na nakapagkuwalipika na sa 2016 ParaLympic Games na gaganapin sa Rio De Janeiro sa Setyembre.
Ang lima ay sina Ernie Gawilan sa swimming, Josephine Medina sa table tennis, Jerod Pete Mangliwan at Andy Avellana sa athletics at si Adeline Dumapong-Ancheta sa power lifting.
May kabuuang 570, atleta at opisyal mula sa Pangasinan, Pampanga, Bulacan, Baguio, Benguet Province, Vigan, Sorsogon, NCR, Calabarzon, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cebu, Tacloban, Cagayan De Oro, Iligan, Davao City, Davao Del Norte, Koronadal, Misamis Oriental, General Santos, Zamboanga City at Butuan ang sasabak sa torneo. (Angie Oredo)