For 24th straight year: Cebu City Niños rule CVIRAA Meet

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu City Niños missed the title in at least two major sports, but still managed to improve their points from the previous edition en route to a successful defense of their overall crown for the 24th straight year in the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) Meet, which formally came to a close yesterday at the Cebu Coliseum.

The hosts dominated most of the events featured in the five-day athletic meet to come up with a commanding 891.25 points, 19.91 points higher than their output during the 2012 staging of the annual sports conclave that will determine the region's representatives to this year's Palarong Pambansa set this May in Laguna.

Cebu Province took the second place honors with 522.75 points followed by Mandaue City with 339.25 points.

Rounding up the top 19 list were Bohol with 214.25 points, Lapu-Lapu (129.17), Talisay (126),  (Danao  116.25), Dumaguete (102.5), Negros Oriental (101.5), Tagbilaran (93.92), Carcar (31.5), Toledo (22.42), Guihulngan (21), Naga (19.25), Siquijor (16), Bayawan and Tanjay (16.5), Bais (11.75), and Bogo (1.25).

In the elementary level alone, the top three were Cebu City with 379.5 points followed by Cebu Province with 271.25 and Mandaue with 150.5. It's the same sequence in the secondary division, with the Niños coming out on top with 511.75 points followed by Cebu Province with 251.5 and Mandaue with 188.75.

It was a bit surprising though that even if they were ahead by a mile in the standings, the Niños fumbled both in elementary and secondary basketball.

Worse, Cebu City, manned by players from the University of San Carlos (USC), failed to barge into the final round and settled instead for only bronze in the elementary battle after whipping Tagbilaran, 73-35. Cebu Province went on to snare the gold medal after prevailing over Mandaue, 67-59. It was a  double celebration for Cebu Province as it also topped the girls basketball after annihilating the hapless Danao side, 101-49.

In the secondary action, the University of the Visayas-manned Niños also faltered at the hands of the more dominant Mandaue, powered by the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) Magis Eagles, via a 67-57 decision.

It was a rather bleak day for the Niños as they also came crashing down in secondary volleyball as well as in elementary girls arnis and boys badminton.

In football though, the Niños completed a golden double. Loaded by players from Don Bosco Technology Center with reinforcements from Abellana National School and the University of Southern Philippines Foundation, Cebu City edged out Cebu Province in the penalty shootout, 4-2, in the secondary final, while its elementary bets, also bannered by the Bosconians, pulled off a 3-0 whitewash of Mandaue behind the efforts of Dustin Drey Ramirez at 13th and Jascha Tabar at the 44th and 56th.

Cebu City  sealed its bid with a  golden performance in secondary baseball courtesy of an impressive 15-3 victory against Cebu Province. (FREEMAN)