3-time champ Lapu-Lapu City to skip GUV Cup

THREE-TIME women’s champion Lapu-Lapu City will not be joining the Gov. Gwen Garcia Unity Volleyball (GUV) Cup, which will kick off on Sept. 29 at the Cebu International Convention Center.

This was confirmed by Lapu-Lapu City consultant Jonji Gonzales in a phone interview with Sun.Star Cebu. He didn’t elaborate why they chose to skip the tournament but said that the City is focused on developing its grassroots sports programs so they can develop athletes who will have a chance to carve a name for themselves in the regional, national or international sporting events.

“It would be nice to see our own athletes compete in one of the international tournaments the city will be hosting,” Gonzales said.

Not only that, the City is also aiming to be the sports tourism capital in the country and has hosted international sporting events such as two Davis Cup ties and the Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippines. The City will be hosting the international triathlon race until 2014.

“We cannot achieve our dream of becoming a serious player in sports tourism if we do not have teamwork,” Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Paz Radaza said in a press statement during the opening of the City Palaro 2012 last Thursday. “It will be ironic if we continue to win the rights to host international sporting events while our own local athletes cannot even race toe to toe with the best sportsmen in the region.”

Radaza urges the city sports stakeholders—Sangguniang Kabataan, Association of Barangay Captains, the city sports commission, the Department of Education and other private individuals – to sit together and discuss how they can improve and strengthen their sports grassroots program.