‘Little Olympics’ Mindanao to open today

CAGAYAN de Oro Olympian Ian Nietes Lariba, who passed away on September 2 due to acute leukemia, was a product of the Mindanao-wide Milo Little Olympics.

And on Friday, September 21, the 22nd edition of the Milo Little Olympics Mindanao Leg will open at the Don Gregorio Pelaez Sports Center here with the legacy and memory of the table tennis icon deemed to live in the hearts of many athletes from all over Mindanao that she inspired.

However, the ageless organizer Megdonio Llamera may not be around to address close to P5,000 elementary and secondary athletes in the opening ceremony this afternoon as he’s not been feeling well for weeks.

“Megs will turn 85 in December. He’d been resting in a hospital for quite some time now and he’s not even aware that one of his favorite athletes (Yanyan Lariba) was already up in heaven,” Megdonio’s better half Ignacia, 83 told SunStar Cagayan de Oro.

A 7 a.m. solidarity meeting will be held at the Palaro Center’s main grandstand onward to the opening rites to be graced by Department of Education-Northern Mindanao Director Arturo Bayucot, Superintendent Randolph Tortula and vice president Willy de Ocampo of Nestle Philippines Inc. with Asean Games gold medalist in chess, Ronald Canino from MOGCHS set to lead the Oath of Amateurism.

The annually-held Milo Little Olympics is an epic nationwide tournament that caters and showcases the winning energy and winning attitude of the country's young champions of generations.

Milo Little Olympics was renowned in different places all over the country and has four (4) Legs particularly in National Capital Region (NCR) in South Luzon-Leg, another one in North and South Luzon-Leg mainly in Baguio City, Visayas-Leg in Cebu City and another one in Mindanao held in Cagayan de Oro.

Over a dozen sports disciplines will be contested on Saturday and Sunday including arnis, athletics, badminton, basketball, chess, football, gymnastics, karatedo, scrabble, sipa/sepak takraw, swimming, table tennis, tennis and volleyball.

Milo Little Olympics also highlighted the event by bringing back the identification of the “Most Outstanding Athletes Awardees” both in elementary and secondary Divisions.

According to Milo sports executive Lester P. Castillo, the Most Outstanding Athletes awardees will be coming from the best of the best student athletes from elementary and high school divisions.

The late Ian Lariba, 23, was among the previous MVPs of Mindanao Milo Little Olympics as a stalwart then of Corpus Christi School since her elementary days.

Twice undefeated UAAP Player of the Year and a Dean’s Lister of the De La Salle University, Lariba became the first table tennis player to represent the country in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

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