Gallant Bisdaks fall short Team Visayas loses to NCR anew in battle for Milo Little Olympics supremacy

CEBU, Philippines - Team Visayas may have missed the overall crown of 5th National Milo Little Olympics but they have shown to the rest that the Bisdaks can rise above the test of time after giving the defending champion National Capital Region and the rest the best they could despite all odds at the end of the two-day battle at the Cebu City Sports Center yesterday.

It was another heart-breaker for Team Visayas, bowing to its closest rival NCR by a very slim margin in  a carbon copy of last year’s results. NCR retained its crown with a total of 615 points, just six points ahead of the host region that is still reeling from the aftermath of a 7.2 magnitude earthquake and a devastating typhoon that took place only three weeks apart from each other.

But spotlighting the true essence of sportsmanship that the Nestle Philippines-bankrolled event had espoused in its over two decades of existence, Visayas delegation head Ricky Ballesteros graciously accepted defeat as he always did, saying that the catastrophe that struck the region did not cause the athletes failure in their bid to regain the overall supremacy stripped from them last year by the same tormentors.

Instead, Ballesteros gave due credit to the athletes for giving the best they possibly could despite the limited time for preparation and the lack of suitable training venue.

“I'm happy that at least we are able to get a champion's trophy in the elementary division. I would like to greet all athletes for giving their best. We cannot blame the calamities for this because we're able to survive it,” said Ballesteros.

Ballesteros was referring to Team Visayas topping the elementary division with 309 points it got mostly from athletics, badminton,  chess, football, men's artistic gymnastics and girls rythmic sportive event, table tennis,  taekwondo, tennis, and volleyball.

In the secondary level where they placed second to NCR with 300 points, the Bisdaks lorded it over in   badminton, women's artistic gymnastics, scrabble, table tennis and tennis.

Team Visayas ended its bid with a golden double in football.

The Don Bosco Technology Center-powered elementary booters completed a grandslam feat after they silenced Mindanao, 6-0. Dustin Ramirez and Louis Adrian Colina sparked the offensive surge for the Bisdaks with two goals each, while Christian Viern Agot and Jascha Mari Tabar punched in the other goals.

On the other hand, Paref-Springdale enjoyed its first ever national title in the secondary level after it crushed Mindanao, 8-0.

The NCR bets, for their part, dominated the medal-rich swimming and athletics events that largely contributed to their overall success. They also stamped their classes in badminton, chess, men's gymnastics and RSG, sepak takraw, volleyball, scrabble, table tennis and lawn tennis where they piled up enough points to secure back-to-back championships.

“It exceeded my expectations with NCR represented mostly by non-UAAP athletes. With this result, I expect an even closer competition next year as we try to go for a grandslam,” said NCR chief de mission Dr. Robert Milton Calo.

Best of the best

Team Visayas still has something else to be proud of, an added reason to celebrate after having the most number of Most Outstanding Athletes.

Among the Visayan athletes who shone brightly and got P10,000 worth of educational funds and one-year supply of  Milo were Pearl Abellar of Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (athletics), Carl Bernard Bejasa of Banilad Elementary School-Mandaue (badminton), Vic Glysen Derotas of the University of  San Carlos-BED and  Dustin Ramirez of Don Bosco Technology Center (chess), Renante Padilla Jr. and Daniela Reggie de la Pisa of the University of the Visayas (gymnastics), Cristella Marie Sampan of Banilad ES-Cebu City (tennis), Psalm Deniel  Aquino of Asian College of  Technology (swimming), and Lloyd Kyle Lebosada and Trisha Ann Gonzales of Severo Duterte Memorial ES (table tennis), Cha Ynah Labiste of Guadalupe ES (table tennis) and Chenae Basarte of Catmon Integrated School (volleyball).

The "best of the best" in the secondary level were Hanah Tudtud of Southwestern University (badminton), Mario Lorenzo Ceniza of Paref-Springdale (football), Jan Godfrey Seno of USC-BED and Jana Marie Pages of Bright Academy (lawn tennis), Phil Robert Figues and Jill Elaine Ugbinada from the University of San Jose-Recoletos and Athena Comaingking of  the University of Cebu ( table tennis). (FREEMAN)