Little League

The personnel of the Cebu City Sports Commission based at the Cebu City Sports Center have been given the go signal to start accepting donations of sports equipment by Chairman Edward Hayco.

This is an off shoot of our appeal for support to the football players of Abellana National School. 

This program that the CCSC is spearheading will give the possible donors a venue to hand in old or new sports equipment and at the same time shall also serve as a place where the underprivileged athletes, especially those from the barangays, can go to for support in terms of equipment.

Coaches and other people involved in sports can also volunteer their time for the young athletes.

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Batted sports have not been getting enough support from the schools around the country. In fact you don't see many schools that still play batted sports (softball and baseball) in Cebu.

The main reason why schools don't really push them is the lack of a field and the cost of the equipment.

There used to be public elementary schools that have opened their fields to the enthusiasts, but cases of vandalism and theft have discouraged the school principals from allowing outsiders to enter the premises to play.

A couple of weeks ago, I enjoyed watching the Little League World Series. This is the same tournament where the Philippines was stripped of the title back in the 1980s for fielding ineligible players.

It was so much fun to watch the kids play baseball, a sport that the Filipinos, once enjoyed a lot.

If there is one sport where there are Filipinos playing in the biggest professional stage, I would say that baseball is it.

There have been several Pinoys or Fil-Ams who played or are still playing in Major League Baseball.

The most popular should be Tim Lincecum, who is one of the ace pitchers of the San Francisco Giants.

Jesse Bernad, who is the most passionate among the people I know when it comes to baseball, is putting together a league.

We haven't talked yet about his plans, but I hope to see this get support from the local government units and the private sector.

There are some areas that could probably serve as venues to play batted sports, but these can only be utilized if the owners would agree that they be used for such.

The South Road Properties (SRP) looks a very ideal site, but we must also bear in mind that we cannot just lay claim to any open area as the city or an investor might have plans for that specific lot.

What the city government can probably do is point out the place where it intends to have the open spaces for the 300-hectare development and we can get investors to build the sports fields there.

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MILESTONES: Belated birthday greetings go to Dr. Raul 'Rocker' Trasmonte, who celebrated yesterday.

Today's greetings go to Lt. Col. Bob Bacarro, Carlicena Cavada-Tan, and Arlene Aguilos-Rasmussen.

Advance greetings go to those celebrating tomorrow like Randy Nelson Cabahug, Risa Wycoco-Coloyan, Kiyofumi Takahashi, Debra Jane Magallon-Estero, and Reycel Dacoco-Altavas.

More power to all of you!