By Bernard Anthony
KUALA LUMPUR: In commemorating the 111th Philippines Independence Day and the 50th Anniversary of the Malaysia-Philippines Bilateral Trade Agreement, a sports event, known as Pilipino Integrated Games & Amusement or its acronym PIGA was officially launched, jointly by Msgr James Gnanapiragasam, parish priest of the Cathedral of St John (SJC) and H.E. Victoriano M. Lecaros, the Philippines Ambassador to Malaysia.

The splendid opening ceremony was held at the St John’s Institution (SJI) open court. PIGA is being held for the first time and is organized by a KL Group of Chartered Members of the United Architects of the Philippines, under the auspices of the Philippines Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and under the patronage of SJC. The games consisting of basketball and volleyball will end on August 9, 2009.

Earlier the participating teams, all Filipino, which also included the St John’s Filipino Ministry in two teams namely Tahanang Filipino and Pinoy KL Arkitek attended the morning Mass at the cathedral. After Mass Msgr James blessed them with holy water, after reciting a prayer. He called on them to unite and show their Christian values. Msgr James urged them to have the spirit of camaraderie and sportsmanship and to ensure the success of the games.

The St John’s Institution cadet band then led the VIPs and the participating teams and officials in a 10-minute march from SJC to SJI, along Jalan Bukit Nanas for the opening ceremony, which began with the singing of the national anthems of both countries.

Msgr James, who said the Opening Prayer, later gave a speech reiterating the need for participants to have a healthy competition among themselves and to continue with the games with a spirit of Christian values and fair play.

After the oath taking by the participants, the Philippines Ambassador reminded all to bear in mind that they are bearing their commitment in the name of God; so let the games begin. He later released a bunch of balloons filled with halogen gas and the games banner rose into the air, while the participants and supporters cheered. Both Msgr James and the Filipino ambassador did the drawing of teams for both the basketball and volleyball respectively.

The participating six teams for each event were Down Under, Pinoy KL Arkitek, Segambut MJ Designs, Tahangan Filipino, St John Baptist and Technip. After lunch, the first games started at the same venue.