Rama chooses Pages to spearhead sports development in Cebu

CEBU CITY Mayor Michael Rama has appointed John Pages the head of a team that will look into the development of  the quality of sports in Cebu City.

Mayor Rama announced this yesterday during the press conference for the Cebu City Marathon (see separate story). Among the things Pages will be tasked to do is spearhead Cebu City’s project for sports, including the building of a sports facility at the South Road Properties (SRP) in the future.

Rama said it is time for Cebu City to build a sports facility capable of hosting huge international sporting events such as basketball and boxing.

He recalled a shameful experience last year at the Cebu Coliseum during the finals of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation (Cesafi) men’s basketball championships between University of the Visayas and Southwestern University. Cesafi officials were forced to use a white board and a stop watch to tally the scores  and monitor the time  after the electronic scoring and timing system malfunctioned during the crucial deciding championship game.

“It was very disappointing,” he said. “Cebu City should live up to its recognition as a progressive city that’s why we are planning to build that facility.”

Pages said the task is a big responsibility but he is going to do his best to achieve it.  Pages is a multi-awarded tennis player during his prime and an active triathlete these days. He is also a former president of the Sportswriters Association of Cebu. /Correspondent Dale G. Rosal