UC regains City Olympics crown

USJ-R’s secondary boys team gathers after winning the gold. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)

Webmasters finally dethrone Warriors

After being denied for two straight years, the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters finally tasted victory against their rivals University of San Carlos-Basic Education (USC-BED).

This as the Webmasters dethroned the back-to-back defending champions Warriors in the 25th Cebu City Olympics, which came to an end yesterday at the Cebu City Sports Center.

UC reigned supreme in the secondary division after a week-long battle, finishing with 50 gold medals, 37 silvers and 24 bronze medals in the final medal tally.

USC-BED, which ended UC’s 23-year streak in the secondary competition of the city-wide meet last 2013, finished with 39 gold medals, 45 silver medals and 37 bronze medals. The University of the Visayas (UV) Green Lancers finished third with a tally of 16-13-6.

In the elementary division, Unit 7, mostly composed of athletes and teams from USC-BED, took the top spot with a whopping 61 gold medals to go with 43 silvers and 43 bronze medals.

Unit 4 finished second with a 33-22-25 tally while Unit 8 placed third with 28-28-24.

The chunk of UC’s gold medals came from its swimmers, who managed a 13-8-12 medal haul in the secondary division.

UC’s tracksters also bounced back strong after an extended drought in the medal-rich athletics event. The track team collected a total of 12 gold medals, six of which were won yesterday after Samantha Gem Limot topped the 400-meter and 100m running events. Teammates John Marvin Rafols and Jhuvan Jhen Baculot also added gold medals in boys’ triple jump, girls’ 4x400m and 4x100m relay.

UC’s karatekas chipped in with three gold medals as Jessa Avila topped the kata in the girls’ division and Allison Kyle Quiroga and Alexis Marie Sabalones won in the kumite event.

USC-BED, meanwhile, added 10 more gold medals yesterday but it wasn’t enough to catch up with the Webmasters.

USC-BED’s vaunted wood-pushers Vic Glyzen Derotas, Laila Camel Nadera, Ryan Pacris and Chris Aldritz Pondoyo all took home gold medals. Rome Metante chipped in a gold in the kata event of karatedo.

USC-BED’s tracksters could only come up with four gold medals in the final day courtesy of Seth Abraham Pilapil (100m run), Bryle Boyboy (400m), Jon Dean Durano (javelin throw) and Jan Allyson Pajantoy (javelin throw).

USC-BED’s track-and-field team harvested a total of 12 gold medals in the annual multi-sporting meet.

In volleyball, the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) emerged on top in the secondary boys’ competition while the Southwestern University (SWU) girls’ squad topped the distaff side.

In the elementary division, Pardo Elementary School won the boys’ title while USJ-R ruled the girls’ division.

UV remained on top in secondary basketball while USC-BED, under Unit 7, was the champion in the elementary division. Abellana National School (ANS) from Unit 9, meanwhile, took home the secondary girls’ basketball title.

In Rhythmic Gymnastics, UV showed again its prowess after hauling in 11 gold medals, five coming from the elementary division.

Marianne Alegado finished with four gold medals while teammate Eunice Odag chipped in a single gold medal. Daniela Reggie dela Pisa finished with a whopping five gold medals in the elementary division.

WUSHU

USJ-R, meanwhile, dominated the wushu competition after hauling in four gold medals at the USJ-R Basak campus open gym last Saturday. USJ-R also added 10 silver and six bronze medals.

Maria Montessori International School (MMIS) came in at second with three golds and two silver medals.

Wushu, however, is still a demo sport in the meet, meaning medals here won’t be tallied in the overall medal standings.

Winners in this meet will make up the core of the Cebu City Niños team that will be competing in the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) meet in Naga City, south Cebu in February 2016.