All set for 22nd UNIGAMES in Dumaguete City

DUMAGUETE CITY – All is set for the staging of the 22nd Philippine University Games, simply known as UNIGAMES, in Dumaguete City,  Negros Oriental, from October 22 to 28.

In a press conference Thursday afternoon, UNIGAMES president, Coach Roger Banzuela, announced that so far, 31 schools nationwide have confirmed their participation in the athletic competition.

This is the 2nd time for Dumaguete City to host the UNIGAMES.

Banzuela, however, disclosed that this year will see a reduction in the number of the participating schools as a result of the 2nd year implementation of the K-12 Program of the Department of Education that has left a vacancy in the enrollment in the first year college level.

Last year, 44 schools took part in the UNIGAMES, during the 1st year K-12 implementation but the number has dropped this year even though Banzuela is hopeful some more schools will catch up, even if only for a few sporting events.

This year, they are expecting 17 schools due to a drop in enrollment but so far, 31 have already confirmed, and “that’s a good sign”, Banzuel said.

According to him, some “balik-schools” from as far as Tawi-tawi in the south (Mindanao State University) and Baguio City in the north (St. Louis University) are taking part in the UNIGAMES but not in all sporting events.

Even the Negros Oriental State University will be sending a small delegation, just for the volleyball men’s event, he added.

There are only nine events this year, and the limited number is again attributed to the K-12 program implementation, Banzuela pointed out.

The events include basketball, football, sepaktakraw, table tennis, taekwondo, volleyball and beach volleyball, among others.

FilOil’s Rappy Villavicencio and Ramon “Tats” Suzara of the Philippine Super Liga, a semi-professional corporate club volleyball league, are among those expected to grace the opening of the Unigames on Sunday afternoon at the Macias Sports Complex, Banzuela said.

Meanwhile, Dumaguete Mayor Felipe Antonio Remollo, in the same press conference, expressed his optimism that the Unigames will be staged here on a regular basis from now on.

Remollo said not only will the sporting events boost the city’s economy and income but also provide a respite, recreation and enjoyment for Dumagueteños and other residents in the province.

“It makes us forget our problems and differences because for me, I believe that sports makes us equal, everybody’s supposed to play by the rules, and it will give politicians a lesson or two on how to play the sport by the rules. It will be a good learning experience for us politicians,” Remollo quipped.

The mayor also assured that the city will make sure the facilities are in good shape as these are important in hosting the UNIGAMES.

Remollo recalled that the first UNIGAMES was held here in Dumaguete during his first stint as mayor about 16 years ago.

Now, he says UNIGAMES has “no doubt brought Dumaguete to the Philippines’ sporting map” and more sporting events have already been lined up such as the Batang Pinoy and the Asian Handball in November.