THE Cebu City government, through the Cebu City Sports Commission, will hold a barangay-level tournament dubbed One City, One Dream.
The event will offer five events—5-on-5 basketball, 3x3 basketball, volleyball, lawn tennis and zumba.
“We want the people in the barangays to get involved in sports. We want to prove that sports is one of the effective weapons to fight illegal drugs. Sports also promotes good health,” Cebu City Councilor Eugenio Gabuya Jr. said in a press conference on Friday, Feb. 15.
Gabuya, the city’s deputy mayor for sports, said this event is the continuation of Cebu City’s grassroots program spearheaded by CCSC.
Raul “Yayoy” Alcoseba, a former councilor who now coaches the University of Cebu, pointed out that one of the goals of the tournament is to discover gems in the rough.
“No varsity players, active varsity and former varsity players will be allowed. This tournament aims to discover new talents. The active players are already discovered. What we want to see are the new ones,” said Alcoseba. “The 3x3 competition should be exciting. We’re looking forward to seeing individual talents.”
The 3x3 basketball competition is open to players 18 to 25 years old, while the 5-on-5 will be for the 45-above. The volleyball tournament is open to male and female players 18-above, while the lawn tennis has various age group divisions.
The 80 barangays of Cebu City are expected to send their strongest teams in this tournament, which is projected to start next month.
“We really want the participation of barangays. The SK (Sangguniang Kabataan) and the ABC (Association of Barangay Councils) are really a big help in doing this tournament,” said Gabuya.
“We are starting out with the sports that are mostly played by Filipinos and Cebuanos. Especially the 3x3 competition, in this event we can see pure individual talents,” added Gabuya.
Gabuya said the long-term goal of the tournament is to make it an annual event.
In basketball and volleyball, the organizers will shell out a total of P1.4 million in cash prizes. The city will also give out a total of P2 million in financial subsidies to the participating teams that will be used for uniforms and team expenses. The total is P3.6 million for the basketball and volleyball expenses. (RSC)