Central Visayas enshrined into PRISAA Hall of Fame

CEBU, Philippines - Central Visayas got a major bost in its bid for a historic four-peat in the 2014 Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) National Games set to unfold today in Tagum City.

This after Region 7 was formally inducted into the Hall of Fame by the PRISAA Sports Foundation led by its National President Emmanuel Angeles for emerging as overall champions of the annual tournament for three consecutive years (2011-2013).

Aside from that, PRISAA-7 also received two more accolades - the 'Dr. Isidro Cariño Award' for being one of the top three performing regions in terms of pro-rata contributions and the 'Dr. Cecilio G. Hechanova Award' through  swimmer Lorendale Echavez for being one of the four most bemedalled athletes during last year's staging of the multi-sport gathering.

The University of San Carlos (USC) was also feted for being one of the top performing member schools in the previous national meet, while University of Cebu (UC) President Augusto W. Go and Fr. Vicente Uy, SVD of Holy Name University, the incumbent regional president, were conferred with the Dr.Dolores H. Sison Award.

Fr. Uy said all the special awards given are an added motivation for them to further excel in the athletic field. He also expressed confidence that PRISAA-7 will perform well despite the twin calamities that struck the region last year.

"We are confident that we will win again, but I could say anything about our opponents because we have not seen them yet. We have not scouted them ahead of time. Kung nag-preparar ta, nag-preparar man pud na sila. So kutob sa atong makaya, maningkamot gyud tang ma-overall champion gihapon ta," said Fr.Uy.

The PRISAA Meet formally opens today, but games are scheduled to kick off tomorrow yet, giving the athletes enough time to get settled after a long travel to Tagum.

PRISAA-7 officials and coaches hope to defend their overall title even as they only fielded in bets in athletics and volleyball. Most of the region's delegates are from Cebu, while Bohol takes care of batted sports and women's basketball.

Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu is competing in athletics, while Southwestern University sent its secondary volleyball team. (FREEMAN)