A COMPREHENSIVE development plan for the City of Baguio should include the putting up of barangay sports facilities. This is the gist of a lesson learned from the first inter-cooperative sports competitions and awarding of prices program successfully organized by the Cooperative Union of Baguio City (CUBC) held at the Baguio City National High School (NCHNS) Gymnasium last Saturday, October 28, 2017. CUBC insists on this.
The day’s affair, denominated as “1917 Inter-Cooperative Sportsfest”, was a culmination of scheduled month-long activities by and among members of CUBC, envisioned to be soon CUBCNL [Cooperative Union of Baguio City and North Luzon] An observer therein could not but notice the natural enthusiasm that emanated from the sporting games, both in the case of the participants as well as of the watchers, who were mostly young people. This shows that wholesome entertainments like sports can draw away people from destructive entertainments like drinking, smoking, gambling, drugs, or even mere laziness. There is no neutral middle ground here because man is by nature a seeker of the surprising and appreciative of the venturesome. Even laziness is a bedroom for him of evil tendencies. For this reason, city development would be sorely defective if it fails to take into account the role of sports in the barangays as if only the world Olympics matters. Neither can we throw the giving and caring of sports facilities to schools alone because utilization in academic campuses is understandably limited.
Triple thumbs up, therefore, to what the membership and officialdom of CUBC have demonstrated to support peoples’ and government’s peaceful war against drug addiction. It was also highly heartening that the youngish-looking but maturely-caring Vice Mayor of Baguio City, Edison “Strong” Bilog took time out of his day’s hectic schedule to give a truly encouraging presence and message to the participants and audience drumbeated into the awarding affair by the members of the Board of Directors, led by intermissionist Chair “Angie” Gayados and other officers of the Cooperative Union of Baguio City. The irresistible voice of Past Chair Susan Angaga resounded presumably beyond the loud-speakered hall in due recognition to him for supporting police and health work by means of sporting games already in the barangay level, the bulwark of cooperativism in Baguio where, according to Sec. Ofelia Valencia and Treas. Virgilia Diaz, CUBC counts of its thirty-five (35) truly active (in good standing) primary cooperative members.
The prime purposes of this first-ever inter-cooperative sports competition activity were: To promote physical and mental agility, foster cooperation and mutual understanding, build acquaintances, strengthen camaraderie, and encourage teamwork and sportsmanship between and among the coop members.
The participants were:
Basketball – Men: Bracket A: BBCCC, BCNHS-MPC, BGHMCEMPC, UPBMPC; Bracket B: BAMAPCOM, BAVESCO, MBCC, TNFMPC.
Volleyball - Women: BAMAPCOM, BAVESCO, BGHMCEMPC, MBCC. BOWLING: Baguio City School Teachers and Employees Multipurpose Cooperative, BAVESCO (A), BAVESCO (B), Friends Multipurpose Cooperative, TEXINS Multipurpose Cooperative, Timber and Lime Multipurpose Cooperative.
The championship round resulted in the following team finish:
Basketball - Champion: MBCC, 1st runner up: BBCCC, 2nd runner up: BAVESCO, 3rd runner up: BCNHSMPC.
Volleyball – Champion: BAVESCO, 1st runner up: MBCC.
Bowling – Champion: TEXINS MPC, 1st runner up: BAVESCO (A), 2nd runner up: TLMC.
In the Duckpin Competition held at the St. Vincent Bowling Lanes last September 17 the team ranking went as follows: 1. BAVESCO – 1805 total, 2. BGHMCEMPC – 1650, 3.UPBMPC - 1601, 4. OLLPMPC -1383; in individual ranking, Highest Single (M)– 114 goes to BAVESCO Codangos, Agusto and (F)– 129 BAVESCO Pagnas, Karen.
Highest Pinning (M) – 90 goes to OLLPMPC Erese, Robert and (F), to Codangos, Leticia.
Tenpin ranking earned at Puyat Sports, Center Mall on Oct. 7, 2017, went as follows: 1. BAVESCO -3287 total, 2. TEXINS MPC 1 – 2878, 3.TLMC – 2757, 4. TEXINS MPC 2 – 2750, 5. UPBMPC – 2504, 6. BGHMCEMPC – 2450, 7. CUBC – 2360, 8. BECC – 2074.
In Individual awards, Highest Single (M) – 212 garnered by BAVESCO Bugtong, Jerry and Highest Single (F) - 189, garnered by TEXINS MPC Laxamana, Maribel. In highest number of strikes, Highest Single (M) – 6, garnered by TLMC Gubaton, Michael and (F) – 4, garnered by Galejo, Lorena.
In basketball competition at BCNHS Gym, 20 – October 28, Champion is TEXINS MPC, 1st runner up: BGHMCEMPC, 2nd runner up: BSU MPC, 3rd runner up: BAMAPCOMEMPC. Most Valuable Player: Leandro Gavino of TEXINSMPC.
In volleyball, held at the BCNHS Gymnasium from September 30 to October 28 – Champion: BGHMCMPC, 1st runner up: TEXINS MPC, 2nd runner up: BAMAPCOMEMPC. Most Valuable Player: BGHMCEMPC Maureen Valen Aguda.
To fulfill expectant joy in the celebration, lots and lots of prizes were readied for team and individual winners and/or awardees added to memorable certificates and a number of plaques for greater merits.
Fittingly, the CUBC Officers, with the City Vice Mayor facing the athletes, sang in full force the congratulation song to awardees composed by BARP-MPC’s representative and presently a member of the CUBC BOD. Raffle draws, too, for attractive commodities increased audience excitement. Congratulations to the zealous solicitors, thank you to the thoughtful donors in cash or kind! God bless you abundantly and be with you till CUBC gathers us again into a follow-up wholesome entertainment, away from drugs, away from addiction, away from evil, in order to make our earth a well-fared beginning of heaven.