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| Smart and CESAFI officials with the participants of Miss CESAFI 2022 (Image Source: Smart Communications) |
PLDT wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) partners with the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) to bring back the premiere collegiate and high school sports league after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Smart’s long-standing partnership with CESAFI is anchored on its mission to support passion points of the youth such as sports in difference provinces. We want to further the goal of enabling students to be the future leaders of the country and next world-class Filipino athletes,” said Smart Communications First Vice President and Head of Go-To-Market and Subscriber Management Melvin Consunji Nubla.
In the coming weeks, rivals from the 13 member schools of CESAFI will battle it out in the various sports arena to claim the title as Cebu’s elite champions. eSports is slated to make its debut in the league’s reboot. The reinvigorated season kicked off with the search for Miss CESAFI. A staple of the league, the pageant crowns the school representative who embodies the ideals of a youth ambassador. Several of the country’s beauty queens can trace their roots to Miss CESAFI. “Smart has been very supportive of us in good times or bad. Our relationship with Smart has always been pleasant because we can always work together. This is already our 8th year of partnership, and we hope that Smart will give us the same support in our upcoming CESAFI runs,” said CESAFI Commissioner Felix Tiukinhoy,Jr.
Smart has been the league’s exclusive telecommunications partner since 2013. Founded in the year 2000, CESAFI encourages closer inter-school relationships while creating a platform to promote the physical and intellectual abilities of student-athletes through sports and academic competitions. CESAFI is the successor of the Cebu Amateur Athletic Association established in the 1940s. The league has produced some of the country’s sporting legends who have played in local competitions and have represented the country in international events. Smart and PLDT have long supported sports and Filipino athletes, championing the youth by supporting grassroots sports development across the country, and helping institutions discover the country’s next elite athlete who will proudly wear the Philippine flag and bring honor to Filipinos.
