UC athletes gearing up for int’l competitions

ATHLETES from the University of Cebu (UC) will be busy participating in international events in the coming months.

UC athletic director Bernard Ricablanca said the athletes’ stint will be a huge help for the Webmasters since it will give them the needed exposure for future competitions.

UC’s smashers Dexter Opalia and Fritz Michael Sagaad will join the 115-strong delegation to the 15th ASEAN School Games in Hanoi, Vietnam, which will kick off tomorrow. They will be accompanied by UC’s badminton coach Richard Jongko.

UC will also be sending table tennis players Jerny Kaye Pepito and Val Stephen Jaca to join the Philippine team for the prestigious 2013 World University Games in Kazan, Russia on July 4 . Pepito and Jaca will be accompanied by UC official Danny Catingob.

UC President Atty. Augusto W. Go made sure that his athletes has enough financial support for their respective international stints.

“They will not just represent UC and Cebu but the entire country,” he said during a courtesy call yesterday at the UC main campus. “That’s why I’m very proud of these young athletes. Hopefully, they will bring home the bacon because I know that they can do something great in the competition.”

Pepito and Jaca were chosen after their dominating performances in the 4th Philippine National Open Table Tennis Tournament at the University of the Philippines (UP) campus in Diliman and the Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) National Games in Lingayen, Pangasinan. Sagaad and Opalia were silver medalists in Dumaguete during the Palarong Pambansa.

Team Philippines will be handled by the Federation of School Sports Associations of the Philippines. /CORRESPONDENT DALE G. ROSAL