“One City, One Dream” (City government launches inter-barangay sportsfest)

CEBU, Philippines — The city government of Cebu through its Cebu City Sports Commission (CCSC) will be staging an inter-barangay sports tournament dubbed as "One City, One Dream" this March.

Featuring basketball, 3x3 basketball, volleyball, lawn tennis and fitness dance (zumbalympics), the event is open to all 80 barangays of Cebu City.

"We feature the sports that is popular to play among Cebuanos. We made this an inter-barangay competition so that everyone can participate and everyone will have the opportunity to showcase their skills," said councilor Eugenio "Jun" Gabuya Jr. the City council's committee chairman on games, amusements and sports. "We wanted to make them busy in the field  of sports and we also want to prove that sports is one of the effective weapons in combating the proliferation of illegal drugs. Also, being active in sport  promotes wellness."

Gabuya added that the tournament is a continuation of the city's existing grassroots sports program. It will also serve as another venue to look out for new talents.

"One of its purpose is to recruit new players and discover new talents so we really encourage all the youth in the barangays to participate in our different sports activities. We wanted to do this every year and hopefully we can get enough budget for next year," Gabuya said.

For the regular basketball, it will be an inter-club competition open to players aged 45 years old and above while the 3x3 basketball is open to 18 to 25 years old cagers.

The men's and women's volleyball is open to 18 years old and above spikers, while lawn tennis will have 30-above, 40-above and 50-above age groups. All participants must be a registered voter in Cebu City to qualify to join.

Each event will have its own format of play. The teams will be divided in two districts, North and South, and will be clustered accordingly. Each sport will have its own district winners that will then vie for the overall championship. Huge cash prizes are stake for the winners.

Entry forms are available at the office of Councilor Gabuya at the Cebu City Hall. The submission of entries will start on February 18 while the official registration begins on March 5. The games are expected to kick off in the second week of March.