Central Visayas faces tough task in CHED Games

CEBU, Philippines - The Central Visayas contingent girds up for a daunting mission of clinching the overall championship of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) National Games and Cultural Festival slate from February 22 to 28 at Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.

With only one event unrepresented, Amelia Biglete, head of the joint Region 7 delegation of the State Colleges and Universities Athletic Association (SCUAA) and Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA), is challenging all athletic directors to go for nothing less than the top spot in the week-long sports conclave.

“Biglete is challenging us to get the top position in the national meet and it’s a big task ahead of us,” said current PRISAA-7 officer-in-charge Ryan Aznar of Southwestern University (SWU).

Aznar said the region has been perennial third placers in the National PRISAA and last year, Central Visayas was nine golds shy from the second placer.

“We’re hoping to do better and place better this year especially now that all events are already represented except for women’s judo. I just hope that with these changes, we could improve our standing,” Aznar said.

Central Visayas got an added boost with the addition of boxing and beach volley, two major sporting disciplines that the Cebuanos are best known to dominate. The Cevees are also expected to rake in medals in softball and baseball, which has not been included in the competition for several years.

Cebu Technological University (CTU), formerly the Cebu State College of Science and Technology (CSCST) and the Philippine Maritime University (PMU) of Bohol will represent the region in softball and baseball, respectively.

“It’s been a long time since we had no entries for these sports, karun rana nabalik with the inclusion of SCUAA during the RAHEI Games in Bohol last month,” said Aznar.

The Olympic-style modified medal count will be applied to determine the rankings of the 17 regions that will take part in the multi-event gathering. — Marigold P. Lebumfacil (THE FREEMAN)