EYES ON THE PRIZE || Mindanao State University - General Santos City eyes on bagging their 5th championship this coming MSUSAA. (Illustration by Jezrah Gamutin)
By Kimbian Lim and Joseph Estrera
Making its way back to the Marawi campus this time, the Mindanao State University System Athletic Association (MSUSAA) is once again ready to showcase the MSUan sports prowess this December 15–22, 2023.
Following a three-year hiatus, MSU-GenSan is gearing up to compete with the goal of extending their ongoing championship streak to its fifth year.
MSU-GENSAN’S MSUSAA COMMITMENT
In response to questions and uncertainties pertaining to the institution's participation in the MSUSAA, Sports Development Office (SDO) Chairperson Prof. Sammielyn Lavente strongly assured that MSU-GenSan will be present in Marawi City.
“May initial go signal na coming from the chancellor, ang gina-antay niya nalang talaga is budget proposal coming from the office,” stated Prof. Lavente.
EXPANDED PARTICIPATION AND ADMIN VISION
In a show of unwavering support and a sincere commitment to uplift the morale of student-athletes, Prof. Lavente committed to surpassing their previous participation record, with an increase from 190 varsity athletes and coaches in 2019 to 231 this year.
Prof. Lavente shared her vision, saying, "Maximizing the number of athletes, iyon ang gina-push natin, we wanted na mabigay ‘yung opportunity to the athletes, kaya nag-push tayo doon sa maximum number."
This noteworthy expansion of their representation has been made possible thanks to a generous budget allocation from the chancellor.
"Despite our big expense sa 50th Year Anniversary, the chancellor is very supportive na i-push talaga with the budget na aabot talaga ng 1 million pesos. When it comes sa sports, never ka maka dungog ug rejection [from] him, basta about student welfare,” she added, highlighting the remarkable support they've received from the chancellor.
LIST OF ATHLETIC EVENTS AND RETURN OF MR. AND MS. MSUSAA
The Inter-MSU event is set to feature a range of sports competitions, including baseball, softball, dancesports, sepak takraw, soccer, taekwondo, and those with men and women categories such as athletics, badminton, basketball, chess, lawn tennis, and volleyball.
In addition to the sports competitions, the event will also host the comeback of Mr. and Ms. MSUSAA, where Ms. MSU 2023 Cyrille Mae Marcilla from the College of Fisheries will be MSU-GenSan’s female representative. Meanwhile, the selection process for the male representative will involve a closed-door screening facilitated by the Supreme Student Council, with each college putting forward two candidates.
REQUIREMENTS FOR TEAM COMPOSITION
Staging MSUSAA as a qualifying competition for the Mindanao Association of State Tertiary Schools (MASTS) next year, SDO has added an additional requirement for the team composition, which requires at least 60% of the participating athletes to be from the non-graduating class.
"What if mag graduate na yung core group, and then next year ang competition for higher competition, which is the MASTS. Hindi naman pwede na ipadala mo sila na hindi naman sila na evaluate for regional," Prof. Lavente explained.
"Sayang ang budget kung gi-hatagan tag exposure, we have to give the best for the school to represent, dapat ang mag co-compete [on MASTS] nandoon pa rin ang core group, hindi pwede na mag compete ta ug MASTS tapos nag graduate ang 60 percent," she added.
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