Sports: NOPSSCEA Suspended in the National PRISAA?

I was thinking that the champion teams and individuals under the Negros Occidental Private Schools Sports, Cultural and Educational Association

(NOPSSCEA) are not participating in the national PRISAA slated in Cebu City on April 22 to 28, 2012 in the thought that NOPSSCEA will boycott for the second time. Last year, they boycotted the Zamboanga City event and even issued a manifesto of their reason to boycott. Western Visayas still participated but the champion squads and individuals under NOPSSCEA were replaced by those next to them. I was wrong to say that NOPSSCEA may boycott for the second time, although I had information that some school heads of NOPSSCEA- member schools, like University of St. La Salle have a go signal to join this year’s national PRISAA. I was wrong because the truth of the matter, the organizer reportedly suspended NOPSSCEA from participating this year and they can only join the event next year.

I came to think of the non-participation of National Capital Region (NCR) last year, but they were not sanctioned or suspended even when they will not participate for the second time this year. Had NOPSSCEA champion teams and individuals have participated, Western Visayas is the hands down choice of winning the overall titles. Last year, they falter in some ballgames to place third behind Central Visayas and Southern Mindanao (Region 11).

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I was informed that some Manila sportswriters may boycott to cover the Palarong Pambansa. It is because a PR agency has taken over the responsibility to cover the event in exchange for millions of pesos. Bill Velasco’s Rappler has entered into an agreement with Governor Espino of Pangasinan and an undersecretary of the Department of Education, who is also a Pangasinense has tapped Velasco to be responsible in disseminating results to selected outlets like the all Manila broadsheets. The province of South Cotabato meanwhile is sending their coverage team every year in the Palarong Pambansa, so their province has an update of their athletes in the DepEd-run grassroots sports development program.

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Negros Occidental is far from being a sports power decades ago in the country when Governor Alfredo Montelibano, Jr., was still leading the Negros Occidental delegation. Another Alfredo, Jr., is trying to revive the said connotations under Governor Alfredo G. Marañon, Jr., but there are those who seem not doing their homework religiously. I was told that Sagay City adopted Candoni’s boxers due to lack of budget in the last Panaad sa Negros Festival’s boxing competitions. I was told that the town of Candoni can’t support its own boxers so Sagay took pity on them, just to participate in the tournament. Unluckily, Candoni boxers, who had bloodlines of Olympian Leopoldo Serrantes, failed to land in any weight category. What happened to these boxers should be the responsibility of Candoni Mayor Jechonias G. Manzano, or somebody may pocket the budget of these boxers. Just wondering!*