PRERENNIAL champion Cebu City will gun for its 17th overall championship title as the Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) 2010 meet comes off wraps this afternoon in Danao City, Cebu.

The best athletes gathered from the different schools in Cebu City have combined their strength to run off with the CVIRAA overall champion since the meet?s inception in 1994.

Host City Danao promised a spectacular opening ceremony at the Ramon M. Durano (RMD) Sr. Sports Complex at 4:30 p.m. to be followed by the CVIRAA officials welcome party at the Durano-Macapagal (Fish Port) Center.

Before the opening ceremony, a solidarity meeting of all coaches and officiating officials will be held at the Cebu Technological University (CTU) and RMD Sports Complex.

All participants will be then be asked to assemble at the CTU grounds for a Holy Mass at 2:30 p.m. to be followed by a parade from the CTU to the RMD Sports Complex.

Cebu City will be joined by Bais City, Bayawan City, Bogo City, Bohol Province, Carcar City, Cebu Province, host city Danao, last year?s host Dumaguete City, Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, Naga City, Negros Oriental Province, Siquijor, Tagbilaran City, Talisay City, Tanjay City and Toledo City for a total of 18 delegations.

About 9,000 athletes will be seeing action starting tomorrow in archery, arnis, athletics, badminton, baseball, basketball, boxing, chess, dancesports, football, gymnastics, lawn tennis, sipa/sepak takraw, softball, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo and volleyball.

According to Ricky Ballesteros, he is expecting Cebu City to bank on the ballgames to bolster its chances of defending its title and remain undefeated in the regional competition.

BEST OF THE BEST

The Cebu City delegation will be represented by the winners in last year?s Cebu City Olympics and some selected athletes from various schools in the city.

In football, Cebu will be represented by the boys from Paref Springdale who defeated the Abellana National School (ANS) in the city Olympics. The team, however, is reinforced by four members of the ANS squad, Ballesteros said.

The Cebu City volleyball squad is sure to meet tight competition against Cebu Province represented by the bemedalled Catmon squad; who have helped Central Visayas retain its no. 4 ranking in the Palarong Pambansa.

In swimming, the Niños will be led by none other than the multi-titled Loren Dale Echavez.

Ballesteros added that Cebu City should be careful against teams from Negros Oriental especially in football, Cebu Province in volleyball and Dumaguete City in swimming.

He also hoped that last year?s controversy of alleged walkout in the elementary basketball event will not be repeated as it will not help sports and the athletes themselves.

?These sporting events are supposed to teach the children to be humble in victory and magnanimous in defeat so they can become better citizens,? Ballesteros said.

All of the sporting events will be held in Danao except for football, swimming and lawn tennis.

Danao City Councilor Oscar D. Rodriguez said their team will do its best considering that they have the homecourt advantage.

?We will not promise the overall championship but we hope to finish as a runner-up,? he said.