1,500 youths vie in Milo Little Olympics finals

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s future athletic stars plunge into action in the Milo Little Olympics third National Finals which begins Friday at the Narcisco Ramos Sports and Civic Center in Lingayen, Pangasinan.

More than 1,500 student-athletes who dominated the regional qualifiers will see action in 12 sports, including athletics, badminton, chess, football, gymnastics, scrabble, sepak takraw, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis and volleyball.

“We are giving the young athletes the chance to show what they’ve got in a high-level national competition of champions,” said Nestlé assistant vice president and Milo sports executive Pat Goc-Ong.

“We want them to experience competition at the top level while getting a chance to meet children from different backgrounds, because we build champions not only in sports but also in the bigger arena called life,” Goc-Ong added.

Visayas tries to make in three-in-row after dominating the Cebu and Cagayan de Oro game the last two years with the National Capital Region, runner-up in 2009-10, out to end Visayas’ reign.

Others vying in the event are Luzon and Mindanao bets.

At stake are Most Outstanding Athletes awards in each of the 12 sports disciplines where Filipino athletes are deemed to have a chance of excelling on the international stage.

Athletes representing Luzon went through a tough qualifying tournament in Lingayen two months ago, while a three-day qualifying event was held for Mindanao athletes at the Don Gregorio Pelaez Sports Center in Cagayan de Oro City.

The Visayas and NCR regionals were held at the Cebu City Sports Center and Marikina Sports Park, respectively, in August.