The phoenix rises in the Milo games

Iloilo National High School’s first venture in the Milo Olympics some years ago was a forgettable one. So dismal that one of its officials can’t even recall the specifics of that stint.

“I don’t know exactly what year that was. I think it was in early 2000. I don’t even know if we won a single medal that time,” said Garry Jamili, head of the special program on sports of INHS.

After that debacle, INHS missed the annual sporting event for several years. It turned out the Ilongos were just mustering enough strength when they went on a long hiatus.

INHS made its return in the recent 17th Milo Little Olympics Visayas Regional Finals. And it was a comeback to remember.

INHS came in more prepared this time and finished fifth overall in the secondary division with 58.25 points, a finish that can be considered phenomenal since the school only competed in athletics, taekwondo and football.

HUGE UPSET

The school particularly stood out in secondary athletics where it harvested 12 gold medals.

No less than the powerhouse University of Cebu (UC) took the brunt of the Ilonggos’ onslaught as INHs ruled the secondary girls athletics event with 30 points, ending the 16-year dominance of UC, which finished second. INHS also tallied 20 points in secondary boys athletics to finish second to UC, which accumulated 30.

INHS could have topped secondary boys athletics had it not been for the disqualification of its 4×400 relay team.

“We were leading when we were disqualified for early passing. The athletes said they did nothing illegal but we gave the officials the benefit of the doubt. We accepted the verdict,” said Jamili.

Overall, it may just be a fifth-place finish but the school celebrated the outcome like they were overall champions.

“We expected them to strive but to win the girls secondary athletics division was far beyond our expectations. We were overwhelmed,” said Jamili.

INHS fielded 14 athletes in athletics (six boys, eight girls), 12 in taekwondo and also had a football team composed of 15 players.

The productive campaign of INHS’ tracksters more than made up for the ho-hum performance of the school’s football and taekwondo athletes.

NEW PROGRAM

INHS won just one silver in taekwondo while its football team failed to advance to the medal round.

Jamili said the big bounce-back by INHS athletes is attributed to the schools’ new sports program.

“Under our new program, our athletes have their specialization. It’s like college students taking up major subjects. There are students who have their ‘majors’ in athletics, taekwondo and so on and so forth ,” said Jamili. Under the new program, forming a strong group of athletes starts with the recruitment process.

“When we recruit, we conduct skills test, physical fitness test and qualifying examination,” explained Jamili. “We had a sports program years back but not like what it is today.”

Jamili said the new sports program suffered its birth pains since the school prioritized its program on arts.

“It didn’t work right away since the capital outlay was too much to bear. Implementing the new program needed us to produce a new curriculum, we needed equipment and people and most of all, we needed budget for it,” said Jamili.

The initial struggle didn’t stop the school to pursue its goal of developing top caliber athletes.

“As a public school, we have limited resources. But with the help of our alumni, PTA and other stakeholders, we were able to sustain our program,” said Jamili.

EDUCATION STILL TOP PRIORITY

Jamili revealed that the athletes who competed in the Milo Little Olympics are the pioneering group of the school’s new sports program.

“They came here to prove themselves and we also wanted to test our new program. We kept on training but if we do not compete, we’ll never know how effective our training is. This is one way to gauge not our opponents but the program,” said Jamili.

Now armed with a new and effective sports program, INHS is hoping to compete in other events in the next competitions.

“We’re hoping to get better. Aside from developing our athletes, we are also beefing up our coaching group. But at least we already built the foundation. We had an impressive showing this year but we are still fixing some things,” Jamili revealed.

Aside from striving in their respective sports, Jamili said the school makes sure that the athletes’ studies are not taken for granted.

“If there’s a line of seven in their grades, it indicates that there’s something wrong. We conduct a diagnostic test and do something to help the student,” said Jamili.

“We remind our athletes that anything can happen in sports. But if you have education, your future is already secured.”

Indeed, after a forgettable initial foray in the Milo Olympics, the Ilongos have left an indelible mark in this edition. And the future can only look promising for the certified Phoenix of the Milo games.