MANILA: Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) chairperson Richard Bachmann has lauded the growth of the Philippine Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) Games, which gives more opportunities for budding athletes to shine. Launched last year with only seven sports, namely: arnis, athletics, basketball, boxing, e-sports, kickboxing and volleyball, the ROTC Games now features 15 sports, with the inclusion of chess, 5x5 basketball, swimming, sepak takraw, target shooting, table tennis, taekwondo and raiders competition. 'The increase in the number of sports in the ROTC Games means a larger platform for our athletes to showcase their talents and, at the same time, expands our pool for talent identification in line with our mandate to the country's grassroots sports," Bachmann said in a statement released to the media on Thursday. The number of entries in the Mindanao leg also increased to 2,000 from last year's 1,300. The Philippine ROTC Games, a brainchild of Senator Francis Tolentino, aims to promote the ROTC program as well as to instill discipline, leadership, and camaraderie among participants from ROTC units who will be competing in various sports events. The three branches of the Armed Forces of the Philippines --Army, Air Force and Navy-- have their own separate competition so that there are three golds, silver and bronzes at stake in each event. The Miss ROTC pageant highlights the softer side of the games and promotes women empowerment. 'We thank Sen. Tolentino, notus for engineering this tournament, but of course, in making serious efforts to hold this consistently for the sake of Philippine sports,' Bachmann said. "I also want to thank Mayor John Dalipe for hosting the ROTC Games again here in Zamboanga City." The 2024 ROTC Games kicked off with the Visayas leg in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental early this month. The Luzon leg (July) and the National Championships (August) will be held in Indang, Cavite. Source: Philippines News Agency