MMSU wins 2 gold in nat’l SCUAA Olympics

March 08, 2013

TWO athletes from MMSU won two gold medals in the 2013 State Colleges and Universities Athletic Association (SCUAA) National Olympics held at the Jose Rizal Memorial State University in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte, Feb. 17-23.Fatima Mitra, a second year engineering student emerged champion in shot put after throwing down the formidable iron in the final round beating her opponents from the other 15 regions. Mitra is a consistent champion in the shot put event both in the regional and national SCUAA meet. He coach is Benjie Antonio of CIT.Jazinda Silvestre, fourth year BS Accountancy student, also won another gold medal in table tennis mixed doubles. She was paired with Mark Anthony Espiritu of DMMMSU.Region I’s mixed doubles became the instant favorite of table tennis enthusiasts in Dapitan City when the two smashed their opponents in Bracket B which made them advance in the semi finals at end of the third day of the tournament.In the semi-finals, Silvestre and Espiritu showed their skills in counter driving and smashing against Region III and the National Capital Region (NCR), two old time favorites in the category. In the end, the Region III players were pushed back to their benches – NCR landing only on the third spot – while Silvestre and Espiritu advanced to a championship match against Region VI.“It’s a formidable match against Region VI,” said Reynaldo E. Andres, table tennis coach. “But when I saw the weakness of our opponents, I immediately formed a strategy in the way my players deliver their service.”Aside from the two golds, MMSU also won seven silver in swimming (6 men) and one in discuss throw (women); and one bronze in swimming (men). Recipients of the medals were Mark Louie Barut (2 silver), Jeffrey Gaspar (2 silver and 1 bronze), Ernesto Gaba Jr. (2 silver), and Fatima Mitra (1 silver). On the whole, Region I won 3 gold, 10 silver, and 8 bronze making it tenth in the ranking.

Meanwhile, PESSDO Director Arsenio T. Gallego, in his report to MMSU President Miriam E. Pascua, said there were some drawbacks of “our campaign in this year’s national Olympics” which affected the university’s chance of winning more medals. Some of these were: the inclement weather in Dapitan City which rendered most of the playing venues not worthy for games; the relocation of game venues which were substandard, drastically affecting the coaching and playing strategies of the teams;

the short-handedness of most of the teams (which was due to the withdrawal of the bankable graduating student-athletes) which resulted in the burnout of most of the athletes, thus, yielding to their more complete opponents; the distant playing venues from billeting quarters which negatively affected the mood of the athletes and coaches;

and the messy billeting quarters with poor lighting system and insufficient water supply, among others, that caused the uneasiness of the entire delegation, thereby badly affecting their psychological winning drive.