PRISAA National Games goes into high gear

The 2011 Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) National Games goes into high gear on Sunday with all 18 sports kicking off at the Joaquin F. Enriquez Jr. Memorial Sports Complex and other venues in Zamboanga City. The PRISAA National Games - with the theme "Sports for Sustainable Peace, Unity and Healthier Filipinos" - opened on Saturday with the lighting of the of the urn of "Peace, Unity and Friendship" by 2008 Beijing Olympian and national weightlifting team member Hidilyn Diaz serving as the highlight of the ceremony. The centerpiece events of athletics and swimming lead the day's full schedule, opening up the five-day hostilities that feature the nation's top collegiate athletes. A total 14 gold medals – 12 individual and two relay events – are at stake in swimming, while track field will mostly have qualifying heats in majority of its events in the sportsfest that drew 3,000 athletes and officials from the country's 16 regions. Zamboanga City previously played host to the Olympic-style collegiate sports event in 1993, 2005 and 2008. Project director Elbert Atilano Sr. said he expects the tournament to go on without a hitch, despite only a three-month preparation to stage the games. "We have staged this sportsfest thrice before so we are aware of the requirements in hosting an event of this magnitude," Atilano said. National Capital Region (NCR) will not be competing in this year's staging of the PRISAA National Games, which was canceled last year to give way to the CHED National Games. The death of former University of the East sports director Bren Perez, who was the 2010 NCR PRISAA president, also caused a leadership vacuum last year. Perez died of a heart attack in 2009. "It was not because NCR was indifferent to the Games," said PRISAA national chairman Dr. Emmanuel Angeles."In fact, there were several Metro Manila schools that were very interested to join us here, but they were not organized. Hopefully, NCR will return in next year's edition of the PRISAA Games." Big City's absence has left the other powerhouse contingents - like Western Visayas, Central Visayas and Southern Tagalog - to contest the overall crown. - JVP, GMA News