HISTORY will be made when the Queen City of the South that is Cebu City plays host to the 1st Asia Pacific University Games (APUG) from December 3-9 this year.
The inaugural APUG festivities are being organized by the Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines (FESSAP) in partnership with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chaired by Patricia Licuanan and the University of Cebu as the host university.
According to FESSAP president David Ong, concurrently the chair of the APUG Organizing Committee, prominent university athletes from at least eight countries in the Asia and Pacific regions will see action in various sports, including men’s basketball, badminton and table tennis.
“We’re so thrilled to bring the inaugural APUG competitions to Cebu City,” said Ong.
“It will be historic considering that this will mark the first time that Cebu will be hosting an international sports event of such magnitude.”
Among the countries that have accepted FESSAP’s invitation to send their top university athletes to the 1st APUG are Malaysia (Universiti Teknologi MARA or UiTM), Japan (Science University), Republic of Korea, Papua New Guinea, Chinese-Taipei, Guam, New Zealand and the Philippines’ University of Cebu.
The 1st APUG opening rites will be held at the tradition-steeped Cebu Coliseum.
The Cebu Coliseum will also be the site of the men’s basketball games.
The table tennis competitions will be held at the Provincial Cebu Complex while the badminton games will be played at the University of Cebu campus.
Professor Robert Milton Calo heads the APUG National Secretariat with Mustaza Ahmad and his deputy Alvin Kwong, both from Malaysia, as technical directors.
Other members of the APUG OC Secretariat include the University of Cebu’s Attorney Baldomero Estenzo as vice chair.
The 1st APUG seeks to foster friendship and camaraderie among the university athletes from the Asian and Pacific regions through sports competitions.