USC reaps fruit of hard work; UC seals No. 15
THE 15th Milo Little Olympics wrapped up yesterday, leaving behind a story of a dominant team surviving a scare and a team tasting victory for the first time.
The University of Cebu (UC) continued to dominate the secondary division with 185 points—a feat that no longer offers any surprise factor since it won the title 14 times before.
The USC secondary division team got second place with 124 points and was followed by Abellana National School with 115.25. Other schools in the top 10 are the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R), University of the Visayas (UV)-Main, University of Southern Philippines Foundation, Silliman University, Saint Theresa’s College, Sacred Heart School (SHS)-Ateneo and Don Bosco Technology Center.
It was not an easy finish for UC this year. The first weekend was the toughest after they were swept aside by this year’s most surprising team—the USC Basic Education (USC BED).
Luckily, things turned for the better in the final weekend for UC to keep the title.
On the other hand, USC BED won the overall title in the elementary division for the first time, earning a whopping 128.75 points.
“USC has proven to be a force to be reckoned with this year.
This is the first time that they won the overall title since the meet started and this is also their best finish in the secondary division,” said organizer Ricky Ballesteros.
Talamban Elementary School is at a distant second with 67 points, while Cebu City Central School is third with 59.75. The rest of the top 10 are Pardo Elementary School, Cebu Institute of Technology, USJ-R, UV-Cebu, Colegio del Sto. Niño, SHS-Ateneo and Silliman.
Saturnino Mayormita, the athletic point person of USC BED, credited the hard work and a strong support group for their success.
“This did not happen right away. It took a long time. Training the athletes started last year. The school administration is very supportive and it motivates everyone,” said Mayormita.
USC, which fielded athletes in almost all events, topped the boys division in athletics, swimming, lawn tennis and taekwondo. They also earned points from badminton, chess and scrabble.
“We do not really aim to become the ‘UC’ in the elementary level. Our goal instead is the improvement of our athletes,” said Mayormita, who added USC is planning to put up a gymnastics team.
Meanwhile, Ballesteros said Visayas is ready to defend the title in the national finals in Cagayan de Oro City.
“Judging from the quality of athletes we have, I think there is a huge chance that we can defend our title,” said Ballesteros.
After admitting the Visayas’s weak link is taekwondo, tournament manager Rene Brojan said he feels it will be different this time around.
“We have a strong lineup for the nationals. I feel good about our chances,” said Brojan.