400 join Aloysian Sports invitational grassroots meet

MORE than 400 athletes from various parts of the country graced the inaugural Aloysian Sports Grassroots Invitational Tournament, which opened on Friday, May 17, at the Sisters of Mary School (SMS-Boystown) in Tungkop, Minglanilla.

The Under-16 and Under 12-athletes are competing for medals in athletics, arnis, basketball, chess, sepak takraw, table tennis, volleyball, football and weightlifting.

The multi-sport meet is one of the major tournaments hosted by the school after the historic 3x3 Chooks-to-Go SBP Basketball Tournament, four months ago.

“This is a good exposure for the kids from both the SMS-Boystown and Girlstown. They get the chance to play competitively against different schools and clubs,” said SMS athletic director Van Halen Parmis.

In basketball, the participating teams in the Under-16 boys’ DIVISION are Passion-Manila, Don Bosco Jrs., Minglanilla Ballers, Minglanilla Archangels, RNT, JHE Four, Thomas, Southwestern University (SWU-Passarelle), Pinamungahan, SWU Jrs. Minglanilla Ball Club, Boystown Passerelle and Boystown Jr.

The Under-16 girls’ division has Ormoc, Gotshot, Girlstown Schwartz, Cebu City grassroots, Minglanilla Chooks-to-Go and Girlstown Aloysians.

“The basketball event also has a 12-Under division. For the individual events, we attracted a huge number of participants in arnis and weightlifting,” he said.

“We have around 400 to 500 participants for our first year. We did not expect to get a huge turnout,” said Parmis. /