Written by Bradley Martin
Years after the pandemic hit, the College of Arts and Sciences Student Council (CASSC) strikes back, reviving its yearly sports festival, PalaCASan 2024, which concluded last March 16, 2024, at the University of the Philippines Manila (UPM) Little Theater.
With its continued fight for the long-drawn-out problem of space, the CASSC engaged the student body of CAS in different activities ranging from physical sports (basketball, volleyball, and badminton), eSports (Mobile Legends and League of Legends), and board games (scrabble and chess). The said games were held from February 5 to March 16, 2024.
The CAS students were divided into 4 teams: the Department of Arts and Communication (DAC), the Department of Biology and Behavioral Sciences (DBBS), the Department of Physical Science and Mathematics (DPSM), and the Department of Social Sciences (DSS). The teams were composed of students from different programs, representing their respective departments.
In addition to the awarding of certificates and medals of winners from the different games, the culminating program of PalaCASan 2024 also included a pageant, Mx. PalaCASan 2024, where individuals showcased their wit and talents in representing their respective departments.
Throughout the night, CASSC awarded the top teams from their respective sports. In men’s basketball, DPSM and DAC went out early in the game, bagging 4th and 3rd place, respectively, while DSS came close to victory as DBBS snatched the championship for this season.
Moving on to women’s basketball, DSS and DBBS once again went head-to-head, but DSS successfully claimed victory in this category. DPSM and DAC also claimed the last two places of 3rd and 4th, respectively.
For the game of mixed volleyball, DSS for the second time around spiked their way through victory, vanquishing DBBS, DAC, and DPSM who were awarded 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respectively.
The tables then turned for DPSM as they successfully snatched the crown of victory in the badminton game for this year’s PalaCASan. DSS took an unexpected turn, claiming the last place, while DBBS and DAC grabbed the 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.
Advancing on to the board games, DPSM outplayed other departments as they nabbed the championship while DSS fell short, falling into 2nd place while DBBS and DAC clinched the 3rd and 4th place.
Pushing on to the game of Scrabble, DAC was not clever enough and garnered the last place, followed by DPSM in 3rd place, while DBBS once again tried to snatch the trophy but was outwitted by DSS, who claimed victory in this year’s Scrabble Tournament.
Proceeding with the eSports category, DBBS was once again hailed as the champions for the League of Legends bracket, with DPSM clinching 2nd place while DSS and DAC remained in 3rd and 4th place, respectively.
DAC finally nabs the crown and takes the win in the Valorant category defeating DPSM, DBBS, and DSS claiming the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th spot, respectively.
DPSM eventually claimed the win for the Mobile Legends tournament, outshining DBBS, DAC, and DSS, who claimed the last three spots in that order.
For the main event of the night, DBBS representatives Frances Moyra and Joaquin Salinas brought home the Best Talent Special Award, while Salinas also won the Best Sports Attire category. Despite the early victories of DBBS, a representative of DSS, Rai Dumotan, rose victorious and was hailed as the Mx. PalaCASan 2024, while Salinas came short for the crown, winning the title of First Runner-up.
A basketball game was also held last March 8, 2024, in the UP Manila Sports and Wellness Center (SSWC), where CAS students went against the faculty and staff of the college. The student team hardly clinched the game after the faculty team closed off the gap to just by two points.
As the PalaCASan comes to an end, the Bakbakan XVIII, a sportsfest spearheaded by the UP Manila University Student Council (USC), commenced where the student body of CAS will be against the different colleges and freshmen teams of UP Manila, which officially started last March 18, 2024.
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