IT is said that sports is a microcosm of society and mirrors life.
It is in this aspect that the Philippine Ching Yuen Athletic Association (PCYAA) was established in late 2013 to gear youthful Filipino students with Chinese roots to sports.
It’s been six years since the multi-sports league first saw the light of day with its grassroots program. How it has expanded to six disciplines — basketball for boys and girls in four divisions (boys 12-under, boys 14-under, boys juniors and girls juniors), women’s volleyball, badminton for boys and girls (18-under and 14-under), table tennis for boys and girls (18-under and 14-under), chess (18-under and 14-under mixed competitions) and swimming for boys and girls.
It is only appropriate that the youth-oriented PCYAA that sought to foster camaraderie, friendship and unity among the Chinese-Filipino studentry through sports activities has pass on the baton to Pace Academy as host of its Season 7, which commences on Saturday, October 19, at the tradition-steeped Uno High School gym.
Among the eight member schools, Pace Academy is the youngest of them all, having been established only in 2002 under the spiritual guidance of Dr. Eddie Lao, a pastor, as the school principal, and Alice Lao, a teacher by profession, as the school directress.
“My parents wanted to open a school to spread the Gospel of God and touch the lives of young children,” recalled their son Wesley Lao, the school’s athletic director and an MBA graduate (2014) from the Ateneo de Manila University School of Management who also teaches the subject Organizational Management to Senior High School students at Pace Academy.
A sound mind and body is most ideal for young students and with this belief, Dr. Lao, under the prodding of Coach Alex Austria, who had offered to teach the kids a trick or two in basketball free of charge, came up with the school’s athletic program in 2012 behind a core group of 11-year-old basketballers who all have since graduated from school and are now matriculating in different colleges.
Recalled Wesley, who is cut from the same cloth as his dad in being passionate about the game of basketball: “My dad saw tall students in school and encouraged them to play basketball the right way” under the tutorship of Austria.
Uneventful it turned out for the young Pacers in their baptism of fire in the Filipino Chinese Amateur Athletic Federation (FCAAF).
“Pace competed in the Federation in the 11-under division (Developmental) division and lost all of its 9 games. This was heartbreaking not only for the kids, but to us as well,” Wesley said. That same year, together with his brother Elijah Lao, they vowed to go all out in the development of the sports program of the school.
But a semblance of success did come a year later in Season 1 (2013-14) of the PCYAA when Pace placed third in the 13-under Aspirants Division (which has since been upgraded to 14-Under).
By PCYAA Season 3, Pace had made some headway in the Boys 18-Under Juniors and Aspirants 14-Under divisions. In season 4 and 5, the school also competed in the 12-Under Developmental Division hoping to become competitive down the road.
And now as the youngest school host in PCYAA history in Season 7, Pace is ready to lock horns with the opposition – Saint Jude Catholic School, Uno High School, Grace Christian College, Philippine Cultural College, Jubilee Christian Academy, MGC-New Life Christian Academy and St. Stephen’s High School – in all six sports in the 2019-20 PCYAA menu.
“We intend to be competitive in all sports, ready to showcase the skills of our athletes,” an optimistic Wesley declared. “I expect them to give their best during the competitions and conduct themselves well on and off the court. Show respect to the officials and to their opponents. Play fair and clean. Hopefully, all our hard work will pay off. Furthermore, Pace aims to not only develop students into good athletes, but also for students to excel in academics. Most of the players who have graduated were able to go to prestigious universities.”
In PCYAA Season 7, youth will be served by league host Pace Academy and the talented student athletes in the Chinese-Filipino community.
And for so long that the young athletes practice sportsmanship during the competitions, there won’t be any losers; they will all be winners.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Bandera. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.