Danielle Torralba
SJSU's Akbayan Pilipino Club won the first place trophy in the 2008 Friendship Games this weekend at Cal State Fullerton.
The Friendship Games is an annual event that gathers about 50 Filipino-American student organizations, mostly in CSU and UC systems.
"Friendship Games is a highly anticipated event hosted by Cal State Fullerton's P.A.S.A. (Pilipino American Student Association) Kaibigan," said Austin Toloza, SJSU Friendship Games' head coach. "This event celebrates SPUF (Spirit, Pride, Unity and Friendship) with over 7,000 individuals and over 50 colleges and universities across the nation.
"The Friendship Games began in 1985 to bring together cultural clubs from various college campuses across Southern California," he said.
John Castillo, a junior business management and member of the Akbayan Pilipino club, said the actual preparation for the Friendship Games starts weeks and months beforehand.
"On paper, we have around 250 people, but for the Friendship Games 2008, we brought 150 people with us down to LA," Toloza said via e-mail.
Media Credit: Courtesy of Adrian Ricalde / SJSU’s Akbayan
All the physical activities of the Friendship Games happened on Saturday of the three-day event, said Kevin Irabagon, the social chair and head coordinator for the Friendship Games.
"Our purpose of going down there was to represent SJSU and to show that SJSU is one of the most spirited schools in the entire West Coast," he said.
Toloza, a senior kinesiology major, explained how the events are divided over the weekend.
"In our team, there were three groups: Roll Call, Games Team and SPUF," he said. "The Roll Call group was the one who would rep SJSU during our one-minute routine. The SPUF team showed how much spirit they have as individuals, how much pride they have as a team, how united they are as an organization, school and, most importantly, how much friendships they develop between other schools and organizations throughout the day. They would try to out SPUF each school through the whole day, which means from 5 a.m. all the way through 6 p.m. Game teams competed in the actual games against other schools. All the groups came together and helped one another out in order for SJSU to be known that day."
The club won the first place trophy in the games event and placed third in the overall event, according to Castillo.
"Each year, this event continues to grow in size and scope," Toloza said. "Friendship Games has come to represent more than just Filipino-American college students. It has given a significant identity to individuals no matter what ethnicity. This is a time when old friends reunite and where new friendships form, ultimately coming together to celebrate the Filipino heritage."
The Friendship Games is an annual event that gathers about 50 Filipino-American student organizations, mostly in CSU and UC systems.
"Friendship Games is a highly anticipated event hosted by Cal State Fullerton's P.A.S.A. (Pilipino American Student Association) Kaibigan," said Austin Toloza, SJSU Friendship Games' head coach. "This event celebrates SPUF (Spirit, Pride, Unity and Friendship) with over 7,000 individuals and over 50 colleges and universities across the nation.
"The Friendship Games began in 1985 to bring together cultural clubs from various college campuses across Southern California," he said.
John Castillo, a junior business management and member of the Akbayan Pilipino club, said the actual preparation for the Friendship Games starts weeks and months beforehand.
"On paper, we have around 250 people, but for the Friendship Games 2008, we brought 150 people with us down to LA," Toloza said via e-mail.
Media Credit: Courtesy of Adrian Ricalde / SJSU’s AkbayanMembers of San Francisco State's P.A.C.E. (Pilipino-American Collegiate Endeavor) move quickly against Akbayan, SJSU's Filipino Club, during the tidal wave event at the 2008 Pilipino Friendship Games held at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.
All the physical activities of the Friendship Games happened on Saturday of the three-day event, said Kevin Irabagon, the social chair and head coordinator for the Friendship Games.
"Our purpose of going down there was to represent SJSU and to show that SJSU is one of the most spirited schools in the entire West Coast," he said.
Toloza, a senior kinesiology major, explained how the events are divided over the weekend.
"In our team, there were three groups: Roll Call, Games Team and SPUF," he said. "The Roll Call group was the one who would rep SJSU during our one-minute routine. The SPUF team showed how much spirit they have as individuals, how much pride they have as a team, how united they are as an organization, school and, most importantly, how much friendships they develop between other schools and organizations throughout the day. They would try to out SPUF each school through the whole day, which means from 5 a.m. all the way through 6 p.m. Game teams competed in the actual games against other schools. All the groups came together and helped one another out in order for SJSU to be known that day."
The club won the first place trophy in the games event and placed third in the overall event, according to Castillo.
"Each year, this event continues to grow in size and scope," Toloza said. "Friendship Games has come to represent more than just Filipino-American college students. It has given a significant identity to individuals no matter what ethnicity. This is a time when old friends reunite and where new friendships form, ultimately coming together to celebrate the Filipino heritage."
