TEAM VISAYAS delegation head Ricky Ballesteros is confident that a Cebu-based school will still emerge as the top team in the Milo Little Olympics Visayas Regional Finals that will be held for the first time in Iloilo City on Sept. 10-13.
According to Ballesteros, there are reasons why he believes a Cebu team will top the multi-sporting meet. One of it is because most of the Cebu representatives are champion teams and athletes in the previous edition of the event.
He also added that reigning Visayas Regional Finals champions University of San Carlos-Basic Education Department (USC-BED) will field the most number of athletes, which means they have a good chance of repeating as overall champs.
“It’s a new arena, new challenge for the Cebuano athletes. They will face the Ilonggos that are the same faces that pulled Western Visayas to second place in Palarong Pambansa for many years but I am confident that the Cebuanos will emerge the champions again because the best teams and athletes will be present in the competition,” Ballesteros said.
Around 40 schools in the elementary division and 30 in the secondary division will make up the Cebuano delegation for the two-day competition.
Some of the top performing schools that will represent Cebu are USC-BED, University of the Visayas (UV), University of San Jose Recoletos (USJ-R), Southwestern University (SWU), Abellana National School (ANS), University of Southern Philippines-Foundation (USP-F), Don Bosco Technology Center (DBTC), Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu (SHS-AdC) and some public schools from Mandaue, Danao, Talisay, Catmon and Naga.
Ballesteros expects Cebuanos to dominate swimming, ball games, taekwondo, table tennis, lawn tennis, gymnastics and badminton.
The Cebuano delegates will leave for Iloilo on Sept. 9. Most will be billeted at the La Paz Elementary School.
The champion teams and athletes will represent Team Visayas in the National Milo Little Olympics later this year in Santa Cruz, Laguna.