Tag: Vol. LXXIX No. 8

THE USUAL suspects have done it again.

Bolstered by practically an intact line-up, the UST Male Tennisters turned their back-to-back title aspirations into reality, annexing the UAAP Lawn Tennis crown thanks to a commanding sweep of the competition.

The Male Tennisters completed their second straight UAAP sweep after narrowly escaping a hard-charging De La Salle University squad, 3-2, last February 17 at the Rizal Racket Club in Pasig City.

Season 70 Rookie of the Year Raymond Villarete hammered home UST’s emphatic title repeat with a commanding 6-3, 6-3 win over John Baldonado in the fifth and final match.

“Before our title win, the players, the coaches and the trainers knew their roles going into this tournament,” coach Karl Sta. Maria told the Varsitarian.

FOUR days after losing its kingly marbles on the pitch, the UST Golden Booters appeared on the verge of a total breakdown.

But instead of sulking in misery, the Season 69 champion still found something to cheer about, as they registered a modest third-place finish with a 1-1 draw against the University of the East last February 14 at the Ateneo Erenchun Field.

The defending champions who failed to advance into the finals after yielding a must-win situation against Season 69 bridesmaid Far Eastern University, solidified their hold of the third spot with a 13-goal aggregate against their Recto-based counterparts.

As of presstime, FEU had collected 21 goals to lead the pack, while Ateneo reaped 15 for second place going into the best-of-three finals series.

Golden Booter Sorito Judal scored on a penalty kick in the fifth minute of the first half following a hard tackle from UE’s Rolando Aljecera to push UST ahead, 1-0.

BRIDESMAIDS no more.

The UST Male Fencers finally got over the proverbial glass ceiling, posting a 3-1-2 gold-silver-bronze medal tally en route to the UAAP Fencing crown, their first since the sport was introduced in 2000, last February 9-10 at the Blue Eagle Gym.

Season 70 MVP Jose Miguel Cagalingan lived up to his name as the league’s top swordsman with a methodical 15-13 nipping of UP fencer Joshua Paunil in a nerve-wracking finals encounter for the individual foil title.

Prior to barging into the finals, Cagalingan repulsed Far Easter University’s Don Decena and John Quirit, 15-9 and 15-8, respectively.

In team foil, the Male Fencers eked out a 35-34 squeaker over the University of the East to bag the gold. Heading into the finals, UST posted a 45-29 shellacking of Ateneo De Manila University.

BOOKING a finals seat for the fifth straight time almost took a long route for the UST Golden Sox, but the reigning champions’ stamina at crunchtime proved its merit.

Displaying the wager of composure that propelled them to last season’s title, the Golden Sox, eked out a 11-10 squeaker against a stubborn National University to wrap up its best-of-three semifinal series with the fourth-seeded Bulldogs last Feb. 17 at the Rizal Memorial Ballpark.

“They were overconfident after building a big lead,” coach Jeffrey Santiago told the Varsitarian. The good thing was they tightened their defensive screws come the last inning.”

UST started hostilities as Alden Lozada swatted a two-run double to midfield driving home mainstay Israel Ona and Korean Chun Wang Song for a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

RESILIENCY under pressure typified the UST Growling Tigers’ latest off-season drive as they narrowly escaped the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws’ endgame scare with a 73-69 victory, to ensure a semifinals berth in the 3rd Fr. Martin Collegiate Cup last Feb. 17 at the San Beda gym.

“Maganda ang pinakita ng team,” Tigers coach Pido Jarencio told the Varsitarian. “Kailangan lang pagandahin pa ang depensa at opensa.”

UST appeared threatened at the 36.8 second-mark of the payoff period as FEU rookie standout JR Cawaling drilled a trifecta to draw the Morayta-based squad near, 72-69.

But the Tigers simply refused to crumble, banking on Japs Cuan’s charity split that virtually sealed the outcome for the España-based cagers.

The Tigers then milked FEU’s last offensive ditch with a menacing half-court defense as time expired.

VICTORY could not have come at a better time for the UST Tiger Spikers, who had just reeled from the pangs of their Tamaraw-induced wounds.

The Espana-based squad then found their resolve, but not after undergoing five grueling sets versus Adamson University, 20-25, 25-17, 20-25, 25-16, 16-14, in the volleyball semifinals last February 16 at the Arena.

“This was a very crucial victory,” said coach Emil Lontoc. “The boys were beginning to doubt their capabilities so this was a much-needed boost of confidence.”

The two teams had a tight exchange of points early in the match but quick plays from the opposition unplugged the Tiger Spikers’ bid to seize the first set, which went to Adamson’s way.

THEY HAVE never waltzed their way to the top only to tumble at the Last Dance.

Playing with gallant resolve amid a raucous crowd of gray and white, the Faculty of Arts and Letters (Artlets) basketball team withstood the spirited fight-backs of a rag-tag Faculty of Engineering quintet to bag the Thomasian Goodwill Games men’s cage title with a 96-89 double-overtime victory last Feb. 2 at the UST gym.

Finals MVP Luie Fabre and Anthony Galongca provided the steady hands for the embattled Artlets down low while mythical-five member Ed Dela Torre supplied the insurance baskets from the stripe, as the blue-and-white squad broke a ten-year-old title drought against a foe which refused to concede despite falling behind, 22-6, early in the opening quarter.

The 6-foot-3 Fabre tallied a game-high 37 point while De la Torre added 13 to help Artlets complete a rare 10-game sweep of the tournament and arrest a decade-old title jinx.

HAS IT always been one for UST?

Before the falling confetti, teary-eyed students, tiger-ear headbands and the over-all euphoria among Thomasians that came with the Growling Tiger’s Season 69 victory lies a dark history that cannot be easily dismissed.

Dubbed by UAAP pundits as the “Dark Ages” of UST basketball, the Tigers’ decade-long lackluster performance in the country’s premiere college league could only illicit a mere shout-out among a handful of black-gold-white die-hards who religiously followed the games regardless of the heartbreaking outcomes and cat-calls from fellow Thomasians.

In 2006, however, a topic at the forums in USTExchange.com, an online community for Thomasians, sparked the yearning among students and alumni alike to remedy their waning love for their athletes and alma mater.

Thus, “Tigerpack” was formed.

AMID an attempt by the country’s top basketball organization to unite the two most prestigious collegiate cage leagues, UAAP president and Institute of Physical Education and Athletics Director Fr. Ermito de Sagon, O.P. has stood firm against any move to merge the UAAP and the NCAA.

“The UAAP vastly varies in culture, history and tradition compared to the NCAA. We do not want to bury the legacy of each league,” de Sagon told the Varsitarian. “UAAP is UAAP; it has struggled through the years to be what it is today.”

The idea of unifying the two leagues first surfaced during the Christmas break when Season 71 host University of the Philippines (UP) proposed the merger of UAAP and NCAA’s upcoming basketball seasons in line with its 100th anniversary. UP is a founding member of both leagues.