Sports sa bukid

Hope the headline doesn’t sound weird because it shouldn’t. Long before sports was a main spectacle in the city, there was a little “sleepy” mining town up there in the mountains that boasted of one of the most comprehensive programs in sports. Call me biased, but I’ll be proud about it for this case. Growing up in a sleepy town has its pluses and one of these is the exposure to sports, believe it or not.

By now, you should’ve gotten to know what we’re talking about, haven’t you? The sleepy town is Lutopan (now called Brgy Don Andres Soriano or DAS) in Toledo City. It’s where the once mighty Atlas Mines stood as a model of a company for which Cebu was known. Atlas was more than just mining. It was at the forefront of among other things, employment, manufacturing, employee programs, medical care and of course, sports. But after going through some rough times, Atlas shut down its operations and Lutopan suddenly turned deafeningly quiet after roughly 40 years of existence.

But that was then. Lutopan today looks like it’s ready to make a roaring comeback with the rise of what is now called Carmen Copper Corporation. It may not be back to what Atlas once was before, but one thing’s for sure. It’s bouncing back into shape. And with it will come what was a common sight in the Atlas days of old: sports.

Over the past week with Lutopan celebrating its fiesta, the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, the Lutopan Recreation Center hosted two big sports events. The first was an exhibition game between the UV Lancers and UC Webmasters, while the second was a professional boxing card. It has also hosted a series of other sports events ever since it was renovated to look like its old state of the 80s. If you had only seen how sorry it looked when it was abandoned and left to rot, you’d shed a tear. And if you see it today, you wouldn’t have thought that it once looked like a big garbage pit of a gym.

Back in the 70s and 80s, sports was a big thing in Lutopan. Cebu’s best basketball players once strutted their stuff at the “Recreation Center,” the beehive of sports activity in Atlas. It hosted a gym, bowling lanes, multi-purpose rooms for martial arts, and a separate tennis court. A softball diamond was laid out in front of the gym, while a makeshift track oval was also ready for competitions. Not too far in another location within the Atlas compound were badminton courts, two swimming pools, another basketball gym, and another two sets of bowling lanes. Not many would believe that Atlas could host and own all these sports facilities.

Amateur boxing, badminton, tennis, swimming, running (even before today’s boom), softball, bowling and billiards were all big hits in Atlas. The inter-division basketball tournaments were the most watched events in town, featuring current and former collegiate players from Cebu and even Manila. Some of these players eventually settled down to work for Atlas when they realized they were better off with a more stable job.

For the people of Lutopan who lived far from the city, sports was one of the more common “outlets.” There were no malls or big department stores. No movie theaters or public parks or beaches. For the local folks, it was either sports, a drink (or more) and TV. No more, no less.

But why do I bring this up? All because Cebu can be one big sports hub of talented athletes and aspiring blue chip prospects if our sports facilities were in top shape. Infrastructure is so crucial in sports development which consequently also turns into people development, and later over-all progress for the town. If you look at our “best” sports facilities or venues, you’d be surprised why or how we still have top athletes training in Cebu when they could do this in other towns which have so much better facilities.

But things could look bright. If the old Atlas can restore its sports facilities back to excellent shape, I’m pretty sure Cebu can do the same.

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Time-out: Happy birthday to Benedict Chua of Upland Feeds! Congratulations to De La Salle Andres Soriano Memorial College (formerly ASMS) in Lutopan on its grand reunion.

You can reach me at [email protected].