Taking place over the weekend and ending today at the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu is the All Ateneo Invitational Games. The games were organized to promote fellowship and camaraderie among Jesuit-run schools in the Visayas and Mindanao. The visiting teams are Ateneo de Davao (ADDU), Ateneo de Zamboanga (ADZU), Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan (XU) and Ateneo de Iloilo-Sta. Maria Catholic School (AdI).
Games played were basketball for boys and volleyball for girls. Basketball had two age groups: Under 12 and 13, while volleyball was played in the Under 12 age group. Participating in Under 12 Basketball are seven teams. There are two teams each from ADDU, XU and SHS-AdC and one from ADZU. Under 13 basketball has four teams in ADDU, XU, AdI and the hosts. Under 12 girls volleyball has five teams in ADDU, XU, AdI and two teams from the host Magis Eagles (A & B).
This is the second edition of the games that started at last year’s All Ateneo Under 12 basketball tournament in Davao. The staging of these games was inspired by the hosting of JAM 2018: Jesuit Athletic meet also in Cebu. The JAM, however, was only for high school teams with a JAM college division also held every other year. There was a clamor to stage one for the grade school or Under 12/13 age groups. After basketball was the only event staged last year, girls volleyball was added to this year’s edition, making it a first for Jesuit-run schools.
And with fellowship and camaraderie as a main objective, a series of off-the-court activities were also lined up. This is where the event takes its unique profile that makes it a memorable event, one that the athletes, coaches and their parents will never forget. The games are literally more than just games. In fact, the games take a back seat to the more popular off-the-court activities. A Fellowship night took place Friday with each school showing off their talent in production numbers. A hit of the evening was the latest trend in town, doing the ”Tala” dance. The students showed off their dancing skills, but that wasn’t all. Due to “insistent public demand” of the emcees and prodded by the athletes, all coaches of the different delegations went up on stage did the Tala, too. It was a perfect way to end Day 1 with parents watching and enjoying the program.
Next up was the boodle fight yesterday over lunch. All athletes, coaches and officials gathered at two long tables laid out with sumptuous grilled food on banana leaves. The athletes were so excited that some got close to the table even before the go-signal was given. And when the whistle was blown, the “attack” order was made with all participants going at it. They were made to boodle with athletes from other schools and not just their respective teammates. They also had to switch tables to boodle with more athletes from other schools. And when the dust cleared, there was enough food to feed even more. And this is where an “open house” was called with others joining in the fray, including the parents and the school’s maintenance, custodians and security teams of the host school.
Last night’s “Movie and Popcorn” night capped Day 2, with the participants watching the movie, “Dolittle” as one big family. This is a first for many. When do you actually see athletes of a tournament watching a move together? If you recall your first date with your crush at a movie, what was it like? Didn’t you come out of the movie on a “high” just by being with your date? A similar albeit “non-romantic” feeling was there but it was a “happy” moment for all to be together watching the same movie and “owning” the theater for one night. Day 3 today will be highlighted by a holy mass to kick things off, followed by the games for third place, the championship and a friendly game between Dads of Davao and Cebu.
The All Ateneo Invitational Games also proved to be a model of teamwork as the school’s President (Fr. Manny Uy, SJ), Athletic Department, Principal’s office, faculty, staff and the Magis Eagles Parent Support Group worked together to make sure that the event will go unforgotten by all the athletes and their parents. Working on the same page and with one common goal, everything went through smoothly. There may have been sleepless nights and many stressful moments for the organizers, but it was all worth it.
I’ll let the words of Mindanao Peace Games Convenor and Ateneo de Davao Athletic Director Noli Ayo sum it all up. “Seeing the activities we had yesterday (and you know how our friends in Cebu generously and warmly host our events), it made me realize that the grade school, of all our units, will benefit much from the lessons and experiences of these JAM type of experiences. From the community dance, to group presentation, asking them to go around and shake hands with each other, to the acoustic night and to the popcorn and movie night, these young Ignatian athletes will benefit much if values and experiences like these are infused to them early,” he wrote. He then reminded what this was all about as he extended the invite to Ateneo de Manila, Xavier School and Ateneo de Naga for 2021. “Remind them that they are not assured to win games. But very much assured to win friends. It trumps everything,” he stressed.