NCR out to foil Visayas Milo Olympics 3-peat

LINGAYEN, Philippines  – National Capital Region, along with host Luzon and Mindanao, is determined to finally gain a breakthrough win but back-to-back champion Visayas is leaving no stone unturned in its bid for an unprecedented three-peat as the third Milo Little Olympics National finals get going Friday at the Narciso Ramos Sports and Civic Center here.

The Visayan athletes, who won the inaugural staging in their home turf in Cebu in 2009, successfully defended their crown last year by nosing out the Big City bets in Cagayan de Oro and regional organizer Ricky Ballesteros is convinced they can finally bring “the perpetual trophy back to its birthplace (in Cebu).”

“There will be pressure on us to defend the title but that’s our main mission this year,” Ballesteros, also the head of the Visayan delegation, yesterday said in a press briefing held at the President’s Hotel. “I know our rivals will be ready to spoil us but we’re going to give them headaches and heartaches.”

Thanks to their big medal haul in gymnastics, badminton, sepak takraw and table tennis, the Visayan bets amassed 568 points, 16.5 ahead of the NCR athletes who are expected to re-assert their dominance in the centerpiece events – athletics and swimming.

“It’s everybody’s dream to become a champion and we are hopeful we can finally win the title and dethrone Visayas,” said NCR head Robert Calo, confident his stalwarts can also figure prominently in tennis, taekwondo, volleyball, football, chess and scrabble to boost their title drive.

While their fancied rivals are firmly focusing their sights on the biggest prize, host Luzon and Mindanao are out to make their presence felt in the three-day sporting spectacle, fast-turning out to be a virtual Visayas-NCR showdown.

“It’s hard for us to be the overall champion but we are hoping a notable improvement with our performance,” said Mindanao head Megdonio Llamera, whose charges finished third last year.

As this year’s host, Luzon vowed to go full blast in the 12 sport disciplines with regional coordinator Teresa Bernardino saying: “Though we’re coming off a last-place finish, we still want to win. Our biggest challenge is to spoil the Visayan region from winning its third straight title.”

Close to 1, 500 student-athletes have already been accounted and are expected to join the colourful opening ceremonies set at the sprawling sports center before an anticipated big Friday noon crowd of more than 20, 000.  

“This is the battle of the best athletes in the country,” stressed Pat Goc-Ong, Nestle AVP and MILO sports executive. “We urge all the young athletes to play smarter and aim for better records in this year’s event. We are confident the competition will also bring the best from all the athletes competing.”