CV bags 3rd straight Prisaa title

Central Visayas (Region 7) realized its grandslam dream after it was crowned overall champion anew in the week-long Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) National Games, which ended yesterday in Lingayen, Pangasinan.

Region 7 finished the annual multi-sporting event with a total haul of 77 golds, 50 silvers and 29 bronze medals.

Calabarzon (Region 4A) settled for second place with a 68-30-49 medal haul. Third place went to Western Visayas (Region 6), which finished with a 61-51-86 tally.

Completing the top 5 were Western Mindanao (Region 9) with a 30-45-49 record and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) with a 14-9-84 tally.

Central Visayas also won last year’s national title held here in Cebu after bagging a total of 117 gold medals, 44 silvers and 41 bronze medals. In 2011 in Zamboanga, Central Visayas was also crowned national champion with a tally of 70 golds, 53 silvers and 67 bronze medals.

“We really stood out in the ball games except for basketball. But we dominated beach volleyball and improved our performance in other sports. That really gave Region VII a lot of gold medals,” said Bernard Ricablanca, one of Central Visayas’ delegation head.

With regards to the loss of its basketball team, Ricablanca suggested for a selection team to play next year. “For me, the basketball team of Region VII next year should be a selection team instead of a one solid team because we proved it last year when we selected taller and bigger players coming from the Cesafi which can compete evenly with the other regions. But no offense to the players of Southwestern University (SWU) because they really doubled their effort in their campaign.”

Ricablanca also said he was delighted with the performance of the region’s swim team because the event was usually dominated either by Calabarzon or the National Capital Region (NCR).

The Central Visayas tennis team was also a big factor as it emerged event champion by winning 15 of the 16 gold medals at stake in the sport.

GRAVE THREAT

But Ricablanca was worried with an incident wherein the Cotabato lawn tennis coach allegedly threatened the Central Visayas tennis team not to go to either Davao or General Santos. This is a concern because Tagum, Davao will host the 2014 National Prisaa Games.

The incident started when Sally Mae Siso noticed that their mixed doubles lineup has not been changed.

Central Visayas was supposed to have Claire Lazaga and John Pintor see action in the mixed doubles after the rule of no double entry was implemented in the event.

However, the Cotabato coach complained because she had only four players. The rest of the delegation agreed to scratch the rule to give Cotabato leeway.

Because of this, Central Visayas decided to replace Lazaga and Pintor with Sally Mae Siso and Abarquez.

However, during the draw last Thursday, Sally Mae Siso noticed that their lineup was not changed. She called the attention of the event director but the Cotabato coach said it can no longer be changed because they were almost done with the draw.

Sally Mae was upset with the decision and this is when the Cotabato coach got irritated. Sally Mae Siso later apologized, saying she only wanted to be fair but the Cotabato coach did not accept her apology.

During the awarding yesterday, the Cotabato coach approached Sally Mae and shook her hand. “She clinched my hand so tight so I clinched it back because I was scared. However, she grabbed me and told me that I was a good player but had no manners,” Sally Mae said.

Her brother Bernardine, who heard the exchange, defended his sister. That was when the coach threatened them.

Ricablanca said they have already filed a complaint of grave threats to the PRISAA national executive committee headed by Bert Atilano.

Save for the tennis controversy, everything went smooth for the Cebuanos. Region 7’s karatekas chipped in 10 golds for the region while the badminton’s women’s team, beach volleyball men’s and women’s team also topped their competition.

In karatedo, University of Cebu’s (UC) Samuel Orillo contributed golden finishes in the individual and team kata along with teammates Jovanie Lariosa and Ryan Lemoneras.

The UC women’s team kata composed of Anne Marie Dela Riarte, Juliene Camille Racuya and Francis Lyn Dajunan also grabbed golds.

Adam Arado of COSCA School of Dumaguete chipped in a gold via the -55-kilogram men’s kumite while University of Southern Philippines-Foundation (USP-F) Sydney Earl Mitante topped the +75kg men’s kumite. University of San Jose-Recoletos’s (USJ-R) Marjorie Villareal won the gold medal in the -61kg women’s kumite.