21st City Olympics opens Oct. 16

Two days more and organizers of the Cebu City Olympics will soon find out if the new system they adopted for the composition of delegates and the experiment they implemented on the basketball event will pay off as the event’s 21st edition opens this Sunday at the Cebu City Sports Center (CCSC).

Earlier, organizers have decided to let the private schools compete as a separate team and not part of the unit area where they belong.

Although it is not mandatory for the private schools to separate from their units, Ricky Ballesteros, chairman of the Department of Education (DepEd) Sports Committee Cebu City Division, said they are encouraging members of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. (CESAFI) to play as a separate delegate.

The separation of the private schools from their mother units was done to give the public schools a chance to be recognized in this multi-sporting event and give them a chance to represent the city in the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) meet next month.

Cebu City Vice Mayor Augustus “Joy” Young confirmed yesterday during a press conference at the CCSC that the CVIRAA representatives will be a selection. However, the core teams will still be the delegates who won in the City Olympics.

Some 3,000 athletes will compete next week in 12 sports disciplines with 15 private schools to be added to the original nine units composed of public schools.

Abellana National School (ANS) have always competed as an individual entry under Unit 9, it being a specialized school for sports.

With the increase in the number of athletes, Young said they have also trained additional referees.

Organizers have also decided to do away with the tertiary level this year due to the lack of playing venues with the ongoing rehabilitation of the CCSC.

BASKETBALL

Organizers are also excited about how the public schools’ basketball team will fare against the powerhouse private school teams. As an experiment, they decided to let the public schools field a separate squad. The selection was done during the district meet. The experiment, Young said, was done because basketball is the country’s No. 1 sport.

Ballesteros added that this is also done so they would have a ready team to send to the regional meet just in case the lead team would not be able to make it due to some conflicts.

Making the competition more exciting thuis year is the return of ANS to the basketball competition after a 10-year absence.

Young said he is confident that the changes will make the City Olympics produce a stronger team for Cebu City in the CVIRAA.

The goal, Young said, is still to finally make it as the No.1 team in the annual Palarong Pambansa. CVIRAA winners will compose the region’s delegation to the Palarong Pambansa.