Cebu’s boo

Historically, Cebu has been a boon to Philippine sports. The Queen City of the South has contributed mightily to the rich history of achievement in local and global sports, not just as the birthplace of many of the country’s greatest athletes, but as a venue and breeding ground for greatness. The best news is that there is more to come, and Cebu will make the most of its central location in the archipelago.

Cebu is known as the breeding ground for giants of the game like five-time PBA Most Valuable Player Junemar Fajardo, two-time world billiards champion Rubilen Amit, basketball legends like Elmer Cabahug, Dondon Hontiveros, Greg Slaughter, golfing great Ben Arda, triathlete Noy Jopson, motocross champion Jonjon Adlawan, and many more. It has been the site of Guinness World Records in a handful of sports like dancesport, chess and archery, the NAC World Bodybuilding Championships, countless world title fights in boxing, international motocross events, and many others. 

Now, Cebu is preparing for many more landmark sporting projects, thanks to the dedication of the Philippine Sports Commission branch office under Commissioner Mon Fernandez, big businessmen and the city government. Newly elected city mayor Edgardo Labella is likely to appoint a new chairman to Cebu City Sports Commission. Cebu City is the first in the Philippines to organize its own sports commission. For the past 12 years, CCSC chairman Edward Hayco has worked with the local government for major events, and is mainly responsible for Cebu’s Guinness World Records in ballroom dancing (2008), chess (2011) and archery (2013). Prior to that, Hayco’s Team Cebu City Dancesport dominated national ranking tournaments and helped win two gold medals in the 2005 Philippines SEA Games.

“Cebu will be hosting more and more international events,” reveals PSC officer Nonnie Lopez, who works with Fernandez. “We are bidding for the Asian qualifiers of the Youth Olympic Games and the like. Cebu has all the facilities for these large-scale events.”

Private groups working with the PSC in Cebu have identified hundreds of young boxers in the Visayas, and have been able to get them allowances from their local governments. They are also coordinating with the Department of Education to assist with the young pugs’ schooling. The PSC regional office is laying down the groundwork for grassroots development for several sports.

“If you study all of the Olympic medalists, they usually win in their early 20’s, and on the average, on their second attempt,” Lopezes continues. “That means we have to start them at age 10, 12 and so on. That’s the goal.”

One of the goals is to create a feeder system for sports like boxing, arnis, basketball and others. Arnis in particular has very deep connections with Cebu City. Ciriaco Cañete, his father and brothers began teaching it before World War II. During the war, Cañete, who became known as Supreme Grandmaster Cacoy Cañete, founded Cacoy Doce Pares, which spread arnis to over 40 countries around the world. Cacoy Doce Pares is now managed by Grandmaster Chuck Cañete, Ciriaco’s grandson, who continually travels around the world to teach the sport. Cacoy Doce Pares will have an international tournament honoring Lolo Cacoy in August. In basketball, international tournaments involving foreign club and school teams are growing in Cebu, more so than in Metro Manila.

Meanwhile, the partnership between the PSC and private patrons in the Visayas has extended from Cebu to Bohol, Iloilo, Bacolod and other parts of Negros. It is more convenient for athletes and teams in the south to converge in Cebu than in Metro Manila in the far north. With Cebu’s continuous growth in business, arts and culture, sports is an area also at the forefront of expansion.