PRIVATE school athletes from 567 colleges and universities nationwide take the spotlight in the 2018 National PRISAA Sports competition, which unfurls April 22 to 28 in Tagbilaran, Bohol.
The athletes will show their worth in 18 sports, headlined by medal-rich athletics and swimming, with everyone determined to win their events and follow in the footsteps of Brazil Olympics’ silver medalist and Asian Weightlifting champion Hidilyn Diaz, who was a product of the PRISAA when it was played in Zamboanga.
National Executive Director Prof. Elbert “Bong” Atilano said he expects several new athletic stars to emerge from the games, which have been a breeding ground of national athletes like Diaz, fellow lifter Nestor Colonia and former marathon queen and SEA Games medalist Mercideta Manipol, who competed for University of the East during her prime.
“I expect many athletes to shine and add to the roster of the national pool,” said Atilano during the Batang Pinoy Mindanao leg held in Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental, where he headed the Zamboanga delegation to fourth overall with a gold-silver-bronze haul of 38-13-27.
Davao City topped the games with 58-31-25 for a total 114 medals.
“Everything is in place. We ironed out all the major kinks to make the competition run smoothly,” said Atilano, who is also the vice president of the Weightlifting Association of the Philippines and owner of PRISAA member Zamboanga Institute of Aviation and Technology.
Atilano said the main thrust of PRISAA is to focus on individual sports to discover young talents, who may someday play for the Philippines in future international sports competitions.
For the first time, weightlifting will use modern electronic scoring device to make the scoring easy and be at par with other countries. The state-of-the-art scoring device was bought in Japan during the Asian Junior Weightlifting last year when Atilano headed the delegation and where Dessa de los Santos, John Paolo Rivera, Rosegie Ramos and Kristel Macrohon won medals.
This is the first time Bohol will be hosting the annual weeklong sports extravaganza, held last year in Zambales, which had the theme: “Building Nation Through Sports,” under the leadership of newly elected PRISAA president, former Philippine Sports Commission Commissioner Fr. Vicente Uy, who succeeded Fr. Daniel Presto.
Uy said Bohol is ready to welcome all the delegates and athletes from other regions, assuring them their brief stay in the island province will be meaningful and full of fond of memories.
“The sports complex has undergone a massive renovation and improvement to make the competition we are hosting for the first time a big success,” said Uy.
