Speaking during the grand opening of the 2013 ZPRAA
Meet on Tuesday at the CYC Oval, Provincial Government Center, Dao, Pagadian
City, Cong. Yu called on the athletes/players to show their skills and apply
the same focus and intensity in the actual competitions as they did in their
training.
Yu also expressed his full appreciation to the athletes
despite the difficulties they had encountered in their preparation for the
athletic competitions, and their “willpower in climbing the ladder of
challenges to reach this point in their life.”
“Consider this day as your moment, the days you’ve been
waiting for where you can reap the result of your trainings and hard works.
This is the day for you to test and appreciate the product of how far you’ve
gone in your practice,” Yu said.
“Set your goal
with full determination, and persevere up to the last second of the race,
striving to win,” advised the congressman.
He further said: “have faith in yourself, be confident,
condition your mind that you can achieve it. Always give your best and remember
that every time you do your best, better things will happen and victory or
success will follow.”
“I assure you that once you develop and acquire this
attitude, you not only be a winner in this competition, but all of life’s
endeavors. The mental skills you use in
achieving success in sports can be used to achieve success in other areas of
your lives,” Yu added.
Meanwhile, Governor Antonio Cerilles urged all the
participating contingents “to try our best to improve the level of our sports
in the region. So that when the time will come, when we will host the Palarong
Pambansa, we will be the champion,” the governor quipped.
Liberal Party senatorial candidate and PNoy’s cousin
Paulo Benigno “Bam” Aquino was the guest of honor and speaker during the
opening of the 2013 ZPRAA Meet, which is anchored on the theme, “Re-engineering
Sports: Making Good Citizens, Building
Better Communities.”
Participants to the ZPRAA Meet are the eight schools
divisions in the region representing the cities of Dapitan, Dipolog, Isabela,
Pagadian and Zamboanga and the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga
Sibugay and the host-province, Zamboang del Sur, with more or less 5,000
athletes, coaches, trainors and athletic officials in attendance. (PIA9)