ZAMBOANGA CITY – The 2011 Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA)  National Games goes into high gear Sunday with all 18 sports kicking off at the Joaquin F. Enriquez Jr. Memorial Sports Complex and  other venues in this picturesque seaport city.

The centerpiece events of athletics and swimming lead the day’s hectic program ushering five straight days of hostilities featuring the cream of university and college athletes nationwide in the event hosted by Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat.  

A total 14 gold medals – 12 individual and two relays – will be up for grabs in the swimming competitions while track field will mostly have heats in majority of the events scheduled in the sportsfest that drew over 3,000 athletes and officials from the country’s 16 regions.

“I don’t know how we will ever repay Mayor Lobregat for graciously offering to host the PRISAA National Games for the fourth time since we revived it 1991,” said PRISAA national chairman Dr. Emmanuel Angeles. “He truly is a consummate sporstman PRISAA has learned to rely on.”

Zamboanga  previously played host to the OIympic-style collegiate sports showcase in 1993, 2005 and 2008, and project director Elbert Atilano Sr. said that he expected the meet to go on smoothly despite  barely being given three months to prepare for the Games.

“We have staged this sportsfest thrice before so we are aware of the requirements in hosting an event of this magnitude,” Atilano said. “On behalf of Zamboanga City Mayor Lobregat, we thank Dr. Angeles in entrusting us with the opportunity to hold the Games here again.”

Only the  National Capital Region (NCR) is not represented in the meet, which was shelved last year to give way to the CHED National Games,  when the death of UE sports director Bren Perez, who was also the NCR PRISAA president, of a heart attack in 2010 left the region with a leadership vacuum. 

“It was not because NCR was indifferent to the Games,” Angeles said. “In fact, there were several Metro Manila schools that were very interested  to join us here, but they were not organized.”

“Hopefully  NCR will return  in next year’s edition of the PRISAA Games once they have reorganized.”

The absence of the Big City bets has left the other powerhouse contingents like Western Visayas, Central Visayas and Southern Tagalog keen on contesting major honors in the meet sponsored by Globe, Pepsi, Nature Spring and Bombo Radyo.

Among the highlights of yesterday’s opening of  Games, whose theme is “Sports for Sustainable Peace, Unity and Healthier Filipinos,” was the lighting of the of the urn of “Peace Unity and Friendship” by the national weightlifting team led by 2008 Beijing Olympics veteran Hidilyn Diaz. 

Also present during the inaugural rites were Reps. Maria Climaco and Erico Fabian while Lobregat was represented by Vice Mayor  Cesar Itularde.