Cebu's sports showcase

If you love sports, this weekend you should be in Cebu.

For the volleyball enthusiasts, there is the opening of the Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia Unity Volleyball (GUV) Cup at the Mandaue City Sports and Cultural Complex.

For the basketball fans, there are two PBA teams that are seeing action here – the San Miguel Beermen and the Alaska Aces.

For the dance fans, there is DanceSport sa Sugbu and the 2010 Cebu IDSF Open DanceSport Championship at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino tomorrow.

The golf fanatics can either play at the Pagcor-Mactan BM’s Cup at the Mactan Island Golf Club or the Alta Vista September Monthly Medal, which are both set today.

Then there is also the karatedo exhibition set tomorrow afternoon at the Ayala Center Cebu Active Zone to be conducted by the Japan Karate Association.

There are many more events in other parts of Metro Cebu that the sports fans can enjoy.

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The GUV Cup is probably the biggest volleyball tournament in the country in terms of participants, number of games being played, and prizes at stake.

This tournament has already discovered many talents from the various towns and component cities of Cebu Province, who are now scholars in the different schools because of their skills in playing volleyball.

Although I play a very small role in the GUV Cup as an officer of the organizing Cebu Volleyball Association (CEVA), I can’t help but be proud to see what has become of the tournament especially when we talk about those that have become athletic scholars.

More than just a tournament, the GUV Cup also caters to developing the coaches and the game officials, which for me, are also very important in doing a real grassroots development program.

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Cebu is synonymous to dancesport. We hold the world record for the biggest dance class and we are home to many champions, not just in national, but also international events.

While we have all the glittering medals to brag about, what I am most proud of as a Cebuano is how dancesport has been taught in many areas around the city and several towns by volunteers, who are doing it for the love of the sport.

I wish the efforts that are being done for dancesport and volleyball would also be done for other sports, but we have to take it one at a time or we lose our focus and deplete our limited resources.

While it is true that so much is yet to be done, this is one weekend when the aficionados can probably sit back, relax and enjoy the competition for at least two sporting events that Cebu have become very good at in terms of pushing grassroots programs.

Well, I’d like to be in as many events as possible aside from playing daddy during weekends and taking part in the Pagcor-Mactan BM’s Cup early this morning.

It’s a very tall order, but I hope to hop from one event to another to at least get a glimpse of the action.

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MILESTONES: Belated birthday greetings go to Guido Armas, who celebrated last Thursday.

Today’s greetings go to my wife’s nephew Joseph R. Ybarita, Ofelia Enriquez-Culaton, and Karla Kintanar-Fernandez.

Advance happy birthday greetings go to Lt. Col. Antonio Mangoroban, Jr. of the Philippine Marines, Chez Lapasanda, and Leo Lastimosa, who are celebrating tomorrow.

More power to all of you!