BBEAL 2nd sem action resumes

AN ACTION packed second semester of the Baguio – Benguet Educational Athletic League (BBEAL) gets underway this month as Cordillera region’s largest collegiate league resumes its hostilities this month.

Three combative sports will greet spectators of the BBEAL’s 26th season with judo, arnis and taekwondo to be held simultaneously in three different venues on January 19 - 20 while softball also kicks off the second semester events.

The University of Baguio (UB) Cardinals will once again be the strong favorite to win the judo and arnis crown while they both split the championship in taekwondo with Saint Louis University (SLU).

University of the Cordilleras (UC) will also gun for an unprecedented 8th straight crown in women’s softball when play resumes at the Benguet State University (BSU) football grounds, also slated January 19-20.

The BBEAL executive committee during a recent meeting said Judo will be played at the UC gym while tae kwon do hits the mat at the UB Cardinals gym while arnis will be hosted by Pines City Colleges.

Athletics, which has also been a stronghold for UB will be played February 2-3 at the Teacher’s Camp Oval with Lawn Tennis slated at the Baguio Tennis Club with Football seeing action at the Benguet Sports Complex, a sport which BSU is seen to win the crown.

Wushu, one of the region’s top medal earner in local and international events will also be included in the calendar set to see action March 2-3 at the SM City Baguio.

University of the Cordilleras is a favorite to win the over-all crown but UB came surging last year in the sanshou (combative) events to steal the show during the 25th season.

BBEAL’s big three, host UB, SLU and UC are once again in close encounter in a race to win the overall crown following their championship run during the first phase of the competition.

Fresh from retaining the men’s basketball, including the distaff side, the UC Jaguars are off to a rousing start as it won its first title in chess after the men’s squad did the feat and finally ending the school’s 25-year drought in the board games.

The Jaguars also came out stronger as it reclaimed the men’s archery title after losing it last year to erstwhile rival SLU Navigators.

UB Cardinals, after failing to bring back the men’s basketball crown remains a force to reckon with as it continue to top the swimming competition for both men and women and at the same time winning the men’s table tennis and women’s badminton diadem.

The Navigators, despite losing the women’s basketball title retained the crown in women’s archery, women’s table tennis, women’s badminton and women’s chess.