By Danielle Bonior and Tatiana Onofre
Today, the Silliman University (SU) atmosphere is charged electric with students’ suspense and excitement. Tomorrow, the campus becomes home to cheers of jubilance and screams of anguish, coalescing as a heady mix—exhilarating on-watchers in equal measure.
This is how I’d define SU Intramurals.
It is the embodiment of stepping onto campus grounds feeling absolved of the heavy weight of class burdens. You know the intrams spirit has got to you when, despite the heavy downpour, you don’t seem to care that your socks squish with rainwater with every step you take.
However, more than the winning and losing that comes with these physical or electronic games—and your competitive streak coming to light—what many Sillimanians will remember 2025’s Intramurals for is…
The Basketball Game
(CMC Red Dragons VS LAW Knight Owls Basketball Match, ft. COE Pink Panthers)
Spearheaded by the SU Student Government (SUSG) Sports and Recreation Committee, in collaboration with their respective college’s governing bodies, the special basketball match of Feb. 26 was born.
“It started with the comments,” shared Co-Chairperson Gerarica Villaflores. “A lot of students requested for the match between CMC and LAW.”
The committee then communicated with SU Athletics Department Head Asst. Prof. Dionesio Piñero II, Asst. Prof. Kathleen Dellona, the basketball tournament manager, and other important stakeholders to make the game a reality. Later on, COE was added as a guest team by request of COE players and teachers.
“There was no planning, it was a very spontaneous decision. It was decided early in the morning. We later asked our infomedia head to make a pub-mat, so the rest of the student body would be aware of the match,” Villaflores added.
Thus, came 5:30 p.m., despite the short notice, the gym was PACKED. The game’s referee, Ongiz Nocete had this to say: “Sukad sa akong kadugay ga trabaho dinhi, karon pa ko kakita na sobra ka crowded ang gym para dula—na puno gud tanan. Karon pa pud ko na referee ko, pero part pud ko sa dula. Nalingaw gud ko.”
(“In the long time I have worked here, it’s only now that I’ve seen the gym so crowded for a game—where the seats are full. It’s also the first time I joined the game as a referee and a player as well. I was very entertained.”)
However, in spite of the game’s overwhelming success, Co-Chairperson Rick Japhet Zosima claims they can make no promises on the game’s return. “It’ll be a matter of the next administration. Though we hope this can be a tradition, we can’t say it will be,” he expressed.
Despite this, if the student body so desired, Sillimanians could once more band together and have this game back the following year on popular demand.
The spontaneous game was serendipitous—with pieces falling at the right place at the right time to make this once-in-a-lifetime event happen within a span of a day and with no hitches.
All this, because of people engaged with the notion that intramural sports can be more than just strictly competition. Rather, it can be about enjoying ourselves, taking a break, and making relationships with others—regardless of who they are or what gender and sexuality they identify as.
Indeed, not only were students and teachers entertained and eager for more of these unserious games, but SU staff and the game’s referee as well. Nocete said, “Mas chada gud na naa sila kay maka kita ang mga estudyante na lahi-lahi pwede mag dula ug basketball. Bayot or dili bayot, makita nimo ilang sportsmanship. Bisag madasmagan, bisan itulod, pag tindog, haluganay dayon. Makalingaw gyud.”
(“Them playing was great, because the students can see that different sorts of people can play basketball. Gay or straight, you can witness the same sportsmanship all the same. Even though they get shoved or pushed over, they get up and hug. It’s really amusing.”)
For LAW Knight Owls basketball player Matthew Yasi, he views the basketball exhibition (and all the baggage that comes with it) to emulate the essence of the students enrolled in the College of Law. “What you’re seeing here is us being unburdened with what we’re usually shackled by—we’re letting go of all the great pressures of law school,” he revealed.
The Gays, the Allies, and the Girlies
(Well, specifically the LGBTQIA+ community as a whole, along with the straight allies)
Second-year CMC basketball player Antonio Delicana highlights the comedic relief role their college played in these intrams games, “Ug init najud kaayo ang dula and if it’s from a big college usually very competitive, no? Mao rajuy purpose ani. Wala ta ni dula para only maka daog we also played para makalingaw pud.”
(“When the game is getting heated due to a big college getting very competitive, our purpose in not properly playing is to make up fun for ourselves and other people.”)
Delicana further adds that the basketball exhibition game was reflective of his college because “puro man bayot amo college” (there are a lot of gays in our college), and that the event was also representative of the LGBTQIA+ community on-campus.
Their participation in the basketball games, albeit in a very unserious way, shows that gays can also play. It breaks the typical stereotypes that basketball is reserved only for “real men,” because if you watched the game, they also got to pass, shoot, and score…in some instances!
John Alfie Rendon, second-year COE basketball player, had this to say on inclusion in sports on-campus: “In this fast-paced world, we should strive for a more diverse, inclusive Silliman. So, rather than upholding the more conventional traditions of basketball as a solely ‘masculine’ sport, we should build upon it to cater to diverse identities here in Silliman.”
(True) Unity
The SUSG Sports and Recreation Committee views the basketball game as a success, not only from what it brought in terms of popularity and viewership, but also in its role as a vehicle for the coming-together of Sillimanians.
That day, there was no longer a divided crowd. Everyone was cheering for every team—regardless of whether or not it was their college that scored. It was a united and uniting event between colleges, and between the students themselves.
On the other hand, Yasi raised valid points against the basketball game’s return: “The novelty of the game was its spontaneity, and how it rode on the culture of CMC, COE, and LAW. Making it a recurring event means we’ll come to expect it, and there’ll no longer be the same charm.”
In the end, the essence of Intramurals may differ based on varying Sillimanian’s definitions. However, what delivers lasting meaning—and the most memorable highlights—are the moments which bring the most joy.
Intrams ‘25 has been an opportunity for students like those of CMC, LAW, and COE to simply goof around, have a fun time, enjoy the games, and perhaps most importantly, enjoy a full week of no classes (upon incessant requests leveled to some hesitant professors).
Thus, what we remember about Intramurals may not necessarily be the winners but the laughs, the silliness, the hormones, the wit, and the memes that we made along the way.
So, as Intramurals 2025 comes to an end, and we return to the daily grind of performance tasks, prelims, recitations, and practicals, I pose you with this one simple question…
Ready for next year’s gimmick, Silliman?
