Cebu's Pride

I got word from Chairman Edward Hayco that the ALA Boxing Club is opening its doors to the kids, who want to learn boxing.

Ed said that he had a long talk with ninong Tony Aldeguer, the well-loved boxing patron, who said that he would take care of the boxing trainees from the North District of Cebu City and invited them to his gym.

During my days as a new sportswriter and as TV reporter, I often visited the ALA Gym located inside the ALA Compound in Nasipit, Talamban.

I haven’t visited for quite some time now, but I remember that several of the articles that I have written were among those you can see hanging on the walls of the gym alongside the posters of boxing promotions.

From this gym, many boxing dreams were molded and there have also been many that have been realized.

With its doors always open to the kids with dreams of boxing glory, the ALA Boxing Club is something we Cebuanos should be very proud of.

This is also the reason why the man behind the boxing club Antonio Lopez Aldeguer (ALA) is also in the Cebu Sports Hall of Fame even if he is not a native-born Cebuano. He surely has done so much for boxing in this part of the world.

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We have a big weekend ahead for sports with the staging of the PPSA Junior Nationals-Rotary Cup at the Kamagong Gun Club Range inside Camp Lapu-Lapu and the 4th Cebu 10s Rugby Festival at the Cebu International School grounds.

The best junior shooters and the top rugby players of the country are due in Cebu for these two events.

I have always had a bias for Cebu as host for national and even international events considering our location and the availability of resources like hotels, transportation, hospitals, and shopping centers.

We don’t have much yet in terms of sports venues if we think only of football stadiums and covered basketball courts, but we do have other sports venues that can host other events or national and international caliber.

Many probably don’t know that Cebu has the CPRA Range, which was big enough and wonderful enough to host the World Shoot in 1999.

We can hold volleyball games and other indoor events at the Cebu International Convention Center and the ballroom of the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

There are challenging and scenic bike routes for mountain bike races in Danao City and other areas around the province.

We have beach resorts and towns that can host triathlon events and beach volleyball competitions.

The events that we can host are endless, but of course this can’t be done by the private sector alone, the government must also throw in its share to make the concept of sports tourism work.

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MILESTONES: Happy birthday greetings to my cousin Bong Benemerito, Charline France Baduel-Arellano, Myra Guce, and top golfer Marko Sarmiento, who are all turning a year older today.

Advance greetings go to Eleanor Tamunday, Isabella Velasquez, and Loreen Sarmiento, who are celebrating tomorrow.

More power to all of you!