AFTER BEING called off due to unkind weather, the Unigames 2009 took off in style, Sept. 16.

Hundreds of athletes from eight colleges compete in thirteen sports disciplines: basketball, volleyball, baseball, softball, soccer, athletics, tennis, table tennis, swimming, badminton, chess, sepak takraw, and taekwondo.

In her message during the opening program at the University Oval, President Miriam E. Pascua commended the athletes for consistently bringing honors to MMSU. She encouraged them to continue to hone their talents and skills, and to stay away from illegal drugs.

Prof. Arsenio T. Gallego, PESSDO director, urged the teams ‘to hit bullseye’ in MMSU’s bid for a seventh consecutive title in the State Colleges and Universities Athletic Association (SCUAA) Regional Meet to be hosted by the university in November. He also envisions MMSU to shine in the SCUAA National Competition to be held in the Visayas in March next year. \"In MMSU, there is no space for mediocrity. Superiority is our game,\" Prof. Gallego exhorted the athletes.

Sports Chief Robert T. Barangan expects the games to be completed today, Sept. 18, \"if weather continues to be kind\". It has been sunny since the games opened, except on Wednesday afternoon, when some outdoor matches had to be called off due to the rains.

As of presstime, partial results show the College of Industrial Technology Red Lions, which has captured four overall championship titles in the past five years, in the lead.

This year’s Unigames espoused the theme, \"Atleta ayaw sa droga,\" in an effort to educate students on the menace of drug addiction.

The Philippines’ Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) had reported in previous years that there were an estimated 6.7 million illegal drug users in the country, but DDB current chairman Vicente Sotto III acknowledged in 2008 that the estimate was based on a flawed methodology and was likely to be even much larger.

Unigames ‘09 is jointly organized by the PESSDO, the Office of Student Services and Development, and the Central Student Council.