Prisaa opens; 146 golds up

ANGELES City — A total of 146 gold medals will be at stake in the Private Schools Athletics Association (PRISAA) which finally gets underway today at the Angeles University here.

Kicking off hostilities in the five-day meet are events in athletics, with 27 golds to be disputed, and swimming with seven.

PRISAA defending champion Central Visayas is the top favorite to lord it again over a field that includes National Capital Region (NCR), which is expected to give the defending champion another run for the title.

Due to budgetary constraints, events in athletics will be played at the Gov. Bren Guiao Stadium (formerly Pampanga Sports Complex) in San Fernando, while the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex will host the swimming events simultaneously.

Other sport disciplines to be disputed on the opening day are chess, lawn tennis and table tennis where the Big City athletes looms as the favorites over their counterparts from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Central Visayas head of delegation Matias "Bombi" Aznar remained confident that the Visayan athletes would retain the overall championship, citing team sports as their stronghold.

"Even on a short time to prepare, we will have a very good chance to retain the title as we’re pinning our hopes on the ballgames," said Aznar.

"Definitely NCR remains as the team to watch, it has never lost its touch for the title and they can figure any time in any event," Aznar added.

Earlier, the PRISAA board amended its charter to fix the term of the national president’s term of office to four years and make it coincide with the Olympic cycle.

Aznar was elected national president and Cebu City won the right to host next year’s meet. Also elected along were Aurthur Eustaquio of Zamboanga (first vice president) and Carlo Villanueva of Naga (second vice president), University of Santo Tomas’ Fr. Emeritu De Sagon (treasurer) and Ben Flores of NCR (auditor).

Former Philippine Sports Commissioner Anthony Nicanor was appointed by the PRISAA board as secretary general.