WISH LIST FOR SPORTS

1.) Top of the list, of course, is a suitable football venue for Cebu City. That has been number one on the list for close to two decades now, when I first covered the Philippine National Games at the Cebu City Sports Center in December 1997 for the Freeman.

Do you know what the guys at the Philippine Football Federation said when they flew over for the field inspection? Sayang ang Abellana, hindi ma-maintain.

That was the assessment of the late Chris Monfort, one that still holds true today.

The CCSC--or still popularly known as Abellana--is Cebu City’s most overused venue for sports and anything else, and unlike the white elephants of other LGUs, it has more than served its purpose. In the flip-side of that equation, of course, is a football pitch that has seen more deaths and resurrections than Lestat de Lioncourt.

This year, this number one wish of Cebuano footballers could be finally made possible with the University of San Carlos stadium, which was part of the vision for the school by the then USC athletic director Fr. Vic Uy. I haven’t been to the place in a couple of years but latest pictures show it has the best pitch in Cebu City. (I think Don Bosco Liloan still owns that distinction.)

In another year or two, there might be two more pitches for Cebu as Aboitizland is planning one (or even two) artificial pitches in Liloan, while another private individual is also planning to put up a pitch in Lapu-Lapu City, one that could spur development in the area.

Imagine that, using football to spur commercial development. That’s unheard of in recent years and that’s how much change the sport has undergone.

2.) Another wish for Cebu sports is for the New Cebu Coliseum to finally live up to its name. It was already a misnomer and I was told to drop the word “new” when I got into the sports scene in 1997 and not much has changed. It’s privately owned, so, we can’t force the owners to spend millions for an upgrade; but, there’s no harm in wishing for a posh venue for basketball (and maybe even volleyball, too) that won’t turn into an oven when the bleachers are half-filled.

Speaking of half-filled venues, I hope this year, too, will see the return of fans in the Cesafi games, where school loyalty and team spirit will be displayed by students without the need for “required attendances” and “plus points in PE subjects.

3.) An athletic meet outside the school system. We have a lot of talented track and field athletes in Cebu, but sadly, they are limited to athletic meets organized by DepEd and the Cesafi or two a year. Davao City has a privately-organized athletic meet and I hope Cebu City gets to copy it.

All it takes is a visionary to organize something not done before. Perhaps those who love to join the fun run bandwagons can instead fund a two-day track and field contest instead of a fun run?

4.) Mary Joy Tabal wearing the country’s colors. It’s an injustice, as Ramon Fernandez stated it simply, to have the country’s best female marathoner not part of the national team. If the composition of the Philippines Sports Commission was just like that of before—Manila people manning the board—Tabal’s chances of making the team would have been next to none.

With Fernandez, Charles Maxey and William Ramirez—all Cebuanos—in the PSC, Cebu’s marathon queen has a fighting chance of making the team.

5.) To see Peping leave the POC. The final wish list of the year is not for Cebu sports but for the country’s. It’s time that Peping Cojuangco left the POC for good. It’s time for change. Let young people— or those who are relatively young compared to Peping—take the reins of Philippine sports for once.