Quake disrupts training of USC jocks; but UC says it’s ready

THE 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit Cebu and Bohol last Tuesday has affected the preparations of this year’s Milo Little Olympics Visayas Regional Finals overall champion University of San Carlos-Basic Education Department (USC-BED) for the National Finals on Oct. 25 to 27 here in Cebu.

According to USC-BED athletic director Saturnino Mayormita, this week was supposed to be the second grading period examination of USC-BED. But the university’s engineering department advised them to suspend their classes temporarily until they can assure the safety of USC’s campuses.

Because of this, the examination was moved to next week and so was the scheduled practice and training of the qualified athletes of USC-BED.

“It’s very difficult for us to adjust to the tight schedule as a result of the earthquake,” Mayormita said. “Because of this, the examination will be moved to next week, which was supposed to be the training week for the whole team.”

Mayormita said USC-BED’s coaches will now train their teams and athletes outside the school’s facilities for safety reasons. He said USC-BED’s facilities were not damaged by the earthquake but their engineering department advised them not to use them just yet.

“We just hope that our athletes can perform well in their exams and in the national finals,” Mayormita said as he reiterated that the examinations will still be the school’s top priority. “We have to balance both the studies of the athletes and their commitment to sports. Because of the earthquake last Tuesday, everything was disrupted and we have to reschedule everything.”

USC-BED makes up the core of Team Visayas after they dominated the Visayas Regional Finals last August, dethroning 17-time champions University of Cebu (UC).

UC athletic director Bernard Ricablanca, meanwhile, said the earthquake did not affect his athletes’ training for the national finals. “They used their free time to train while classes are suspended. Even though there are aftershocks, they still manage to focus on their training,” said Ricablanca. “They already know what to do and we are ready for a full-blast weekend in the national finals.”