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MILO Holds National Little Olympics in Cebu
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More than 1,200 student athletes and coaches from all over the country converged in Cebu for the National MILO Little Olympics in October last year. The event proved to be a spectacular display of sports excellence and camaraderie among the country’s finest student athletes.
Several VIPs showed up in the festive Sinulog-inspired opening ceremonies to cheer the Little Olympians, led by Department of Education Secretary Jesli Lapus, Department of Tourism Secretary Ace Durano, and Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael Rama. They were joined by Chairman and CEO John Miller, Grocery Sales Director Shahab Bachani, Beverages BEM Dennis Austriaco, MILO Sports Executive Pat Goc-ong, and MILO PR and Sports Executives Lester Castillo and Andrew Neri. Charmaine Campañer of Publicis Manila also graced the affair.
“The National MILO Little Olympics is more than a sports event as it also builds character and strengthens relationships,” said Secretary Lapus. Secretary Durano added that the event “promotes solidarity and goodwill.”
For his part, John said, “The talent and passion of the country’s student athletes have inspired MILO to evolve not just as a great tasting and highly nutritious beverage, but also as a brand that strongly advocates the building of champions in life through sports.”
One of the many highlights of the opening ceremonies was the lighting of the torch that had everyone spellbound. It amplified the Olympic-like atmosphere
in the venue. Each of the participating athletes was also presented with a MILO Little Olympics athlete starter kit, which contained a specially designed MILO Little Olympics hooded shirt, an 80g MILO pack, MILO confectionery bars, Nestlé Pure Life drinking water, a special souvenir program, and a MILO knapsack.
For added convenience, the participants and their coaches were billeted in hotels with five free meals per day, plus transportation allowance to Cebu and bus service within Cebu City. Top line results of the event were also provided regularly.
The event featured 12 competitions: athletics, badminton, chess, football, gymnastics, lawn tennis, scrabble, sipa/sepak takraw, swimming,table tennis, taekwondo, and volleyball. Champions from NCR, Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao slugged it out in these events. In the end, the Visayas athletes put up a strong finish to edge out erstwhile leader NCR by 70 points and grab the overall title. After trailing powerhouse NCR in the opening day, the Visayas team lorded over team events in the elementary division chalking up 323 points and in the high school division collecting 298 points. In the overall standings, Visayas scored 621 points followed by NCR with 551 points. Mindanao finished third with 373 points and Luzon took the fourth slot with 366 points.
“I congratulate all the participants, especially Team Visayas for winning the first National MILO Little Oympics. I commend MILO for holding this event in Cebu, which helps budding athletes become the best that they can be,” said Cebu City Mayor Tommy Osmeña.
Visayas will keep the Perpetual Trophy until a new champion is crowned. If the team wins the overall title three times consecutively, it will be presented with a replica of the Perpetual Trophy.
The closing activity was also filled with pomp and pageantry that mirrored the electrifying atmosphere of an Olympic event. Joining Mayor Osmeña during the closing ceremony were his wife Margot Osmeña and Cebu City Chief de Mission Joy Augustus Young. The affair featured a riveting cheer dance exhibition, free dinner, performances by live bands, and dazzling fireworks, which all provided a fitting end to the grand event.
Now on its 22nd year, the MILO Little Olympics is aligned with the efforts of MILO to build champions in sports and in life. Such is the success of the MILO Little Olympics that it has long since become an integral part of the sports programs of schools and institutions that are not affiliated with major sports groups. Many athletes who had seen action in the MILO Little Olympics gymnastics, taekwondo, tennis, athletics and swimming have represented the Philippines in major sports competitions such as the South East Asian Games, Word Youth Cup (tennis), and the Asian Junior Track and Field (athletics). |
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