UST fencing team captain Noelito has already earned five golds, two silver and a bronze medal in his three-year UAAP career.
But unknown to many, he took a less conventional route to the top.
Before being named as the number one epee fencer in the country, Jose was once an arnis player representing the Children of Mary Immaculate College in Valenzuela.
Hoping to enroll in UST as a scholar, the 19-year-old had to set arnis aside for fencing, a discipline he was not familiar with.
“[The athletic moderator] asked me if I wanted to try fencing first for the scholarship, and once arnis becomes [an official UAAP sport], they will bring me back there,” the Sports and Wellness Management student told the Varsitarian. “I did not know [the UAAP] did not have arnis. Maybe it was pure luck, maybe it was fate, but I became stronger due to my perseverance.”
Jose, whose five siblings also play arnis for their respective schools, hoped to keep the family tradition.
But to excel in fencing, he was told by the UST head coach Arman Beltran to leave arnis.
Ever since he focused on the sport in 2013, he was able to climb up the ranks to qualify for the national team in 2014.
It was also in 2014 that he was listed as the top epee fencer in the country.
“I did not anticipate to be this strong, I just put my effort and work into practice. Even though I was a neophyte [back then], I played with members of the national team,” Jose said. “I really pushed myself to strive hard because I want to be as strong as them or even stronger.”
Jose wants to play on the Olympic stage, a goal he set with his father.
“There was no national team player for arnis back then, and it was my family’s dream [to have one of us in the national team]. That’s why I persevered when I learned that there is a national team for fencing. You just have to rank up and compete, and [Beltran] really had patience with me. He asked me if I wanted to become part of the national team and I said yes, so we both worked really hard to be there,” Jose added.
Beltran commended his ward’s unparalleled grit, saying that Jose’s dream of competing in the SEA Games and even in the Olympics is not a long shot for his prodigy.
“He wants to be an Olympiad. Especially after he won over a Thai Olympiad in the South East Asian Fencing Championship, it really is possible,” he said.
