ESPANYA United (EU) has always been a contender when it comes to collegiate Ultimate Frisbee tournaments, but the team has performed below par in recent national tournaments.
In the first three editions of the National Ultimate Collegiate Championships (NUCC), EU was able to land inside the top five but in the recently concluded NUCC, the team plummeted to ninth place.
For EU’s outgoing external vice president John Michael Ramos, the decline in EU’s performance can be attributed to the team being represented mostly by rookies. But the more pressing issue is the lack of support from the University, he claimed.
While other schools are starting to invest in their Ultimate program, most notably College of St. Benilde’s recruitment of Paeng Manlapaz as head coach, EU continues to train and compete without a coach.
“Thrice na kami nag-reach out for right of training sa field, ayaw talaga. ‘Yung PE classes naman until 5 p.m. so medyo madilim na, ‘yung disc naman hindi umiilaw,” Ramos said.
Ramos said the team trains in the San Beda College pitch wherein they pay P2,400 for a two-hour session. They often invite other schools to play with them to reduce the contribution from their members.
He also said members shoulder their own expenses when it comes to their uniforms and registration fees in tournaments.
“Sinabi na lang nila, ‘Humanap na lang kayo ng pwesto niyo.’ Hindi nila alam na sa San Beda kami [nagte-training], for the team’s sake na lang ang nangyayari, kasi kahit sa UST kami nagte-training, hindi pa rin nila alam na, ‘Ah, UST Ultimate yan.’”
Despite the limitations, EU has not been short in producing players that can compete in the international scene. Former EU heads Tin Garcia and Paulo Peralta, who led EU in 2013 and 2014, respectively, were part of the team that represented the Philippines in the 2016 WFDF World Ultimate and Guts Championship in London last June 18.
“Kung iisipin mo, marami sa Thomasian players ‘yung may capability para maging international players. Kayang kaya talaga ng UST makipag compete,” Ramos added.
