ACC Griffins Repeat as Palarong Atenista ‘26 Overall Champions
The Accountancy (ACC) Griffins were proclaimed overall champions of Palarong Atenista 2026 for the second straight year on 17 October at the 4th floor of Martin Hall, capping a month-long intramurals season among Ateneo de Davao University’s nine clusters.
The Business and Management (B&M) Vipers finished first runner-up, and the School of Engineering and Architecture (SEA) Tigers second runner-up. ACC also won in 2025, after SEA’s title in 2024.
The ACC Griffins reached the podium in 17 of 30 events, including six golds, in women’s basketball, men’s volleyball, women’s chess, men’s badminton singles, and both table tennis singles. Their other podium finishes included second place in cheerdance, mixed football, Tekken, and both swimming events.
Gold medals were spread widely, and no cluster took more than six. The Computer Studies (CS) Chameleons won five, including both esports titles, Valorant and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. B&M, SEA, and the School of Nursing (SON) Panthers won four each, and the Social Sciences (SS) Dragons won three. Humanities and Letters (HUMLET), Natural Sciences and Mathematics (NSM), and School of Education (SOE) each took one, so all nine clusters finished with at least one title.
HUMLET, NSM, and SOE also fielded a combined team that won the Cheerdance Competition on opening night for the second year running. ACC placed second and B&M third.
Season theme: “Break The Limits”
This year’s games ran under the theme “Break the Limits.” According to the SAMAHAN Palarong Atenista team, which announced the branding on 3 September, the theme continues last year’s “To the Top!” and holds that reaching the top is a starting point, not an end. The organizers described it as a challenge to Ateneans to surpass past achievements and grow in character, resilience, and service as well as in athletic performance, in keeping with the Ignatian value of magis.
They said the theme also encourages athletes to use their growth to lift their teams and the wider Ateneo community. Under the university’s Fortiores 2030 Strategic Commitments, they added, the games aim to develop discerning and adaptive leaders, build inclusive communities, and celebrate Mindanawon talent and unity in diversity.
How the season unfolded
The season began on 7 September with a Pre-Opening Formation Assembly. The Opening Ceremony followed on 18 September with a Holy Mass, a parade of delegations from the Sunken Garden to Martin Hall, and the Lighting of the Cauldron by student-athletes from all nine clusters.
On 27 September, badminton and billiards moved off campus to the M2 Badminton Center and Cue Central Sports Bar and Lounge. ACC’s Kit Russtie Eling won men’s badminton singles, and CS’s Faith Golusinda edged SON’s Breeshia Angelie Tayong, 3-2, in a deciding fifth rack to take women’s billiards.
