The two Philippine University Games newcomers – Liceo De Cagayan University and Hardam Furigay Colleges Foundation Inc. – are looking forward to more participation in the annual sports competition.
The two tertiary institutions, both privately-owned, are located in Mindanao.
LDCU is a non-sectarian institution of higher learning founded 70 years ago in Cagayan De Oro City.
Dr. Denise Orong, LDCU chief operations officer and delegation head, said they decided to join Unigames as participation in the competition is by school and not by association or regional grouping of institutions. In the Unigames, our athletes directly represent our university, he said.
Lawyer David Almarez Jr., LDCU vice president for administration and legal affairs, said the university has a combined population of almost 20,000 students in its three campuses, including one dedicated for medical and paramedical programs and another for basic education.
Furigay, is based in Lamitan City in Basilan City and has five other campuses in various parts of the island province.
The LDCU Titans’ contingent traveled to Bacolod City for about 24 hours – via Dapitan and Dumaguete City.
It was an identical travel time via Zamboanga City for the seven-member Furigay delegation.
Dr. Orong explained that they also wanted to see how the LDCU sports program fares with that of other schools considering that the profile of participating schools shows they belong to among the top leagues in the country.
In its inaugural participation, LDCU sent a delegation of 156 athletes, coaches and support staff who are participating in all events of the 2025 Unigames sports calendar.
Midway through the games, Dr. Orong said, “so far, so good”, adding that the delegation is pleased with their Unigames experience that the university is already considering to bid for its hosting in the near future.
Ariel Dela Cruz, Furigay sports director and delegation head, said their “Unigames entry provides a good opportunity for our school as it is relatively new”, especially in its sports program.
The college was founded in 2007.
HFCFI has a population of about 2,090 students, about half of whom belong to the Islamic faith, De la Cruz said.
Sports activities draw great interest in our school so we decided to join the games to provide wide exposure to our athletes, the HFCFI sports official further said.
Furigay is fielding its men and women’s teams in beach volleyball, which De la Cruz described as a very popular sport in Basilan.
He said he personally initiated the move for the Sky Strikers (men’s team) and the Lady Fury’s (women’s team) entry in the Unigames as he considers it a major Visayas-based league, adding, “I have been familiar with it since my high school days when I was still based in Manila.”
De la Cruz said he is happy to renew ties, especially with friends from Manila, and make new connections through the games, adding that they are enjoying their stay in Bacolod. “The people are accommodating, the place and the ambience are nice,” he further said.
Our coaches and athletes, he shared, are learning valuable lessons from their Unigames experience, especially as they are new in the big league.
Asked if they will be back in future games, he replied: “Oh yes, sasali na sasali po kami hanggang nandito pa ako.” | Unigames Media
