Tag: Vol. LXXIX No. 9

IT DID not have to last another year.

The pain of repeatedly choking in the finals proved too much a nightmare for the UST Tiger Spikers to recall that dislodging their bitter rivals from the top became an undying motivation of sorts for the past five seasons.

With crunch-time lessons beefing up their arsenal, the Tiger Spikers announced their return to the UAAP volleyball summit via an epic five-set conquest of defending champion Far Eastern University, 25-20, 23-25, 25-19, 20-25, 15-11, in Game 3 of their best-of-three finals tussle at The Arena in San Juan last March 2.

THREE times the frustration.

For the third straight year, the UST Male Tracksters played second fiddle to a mighty Far Eastern University squad in the UAAP Track and Field competition last February 7 to10 at the Rizal Memorial.

The España-based tracksters tallied a 2-4-6 gold-silver-bronze medal output good for 152.5 points. Comfortably ahead of them was FEU with 311.5 points while Ateneo De Manila University came in third with 149 points.

“We knew that FEU will come out indomitable again,” coach Manny Calipes told the Varsitarian. “But we didn’t go home empty-handed after snaring three individual awards.”

“We have some promising rookies coming in next year, hopefully we will do better.”

AXED on both sides of the court, the UST Growling Tigers witnessed another off-season campaign slip off their hands as they absorbed a clinical 74-97 drubbing from the University of the East Warriors in the semifinals of the 3rd Fr. Martin Cup last February 24 at the Arellano gym.

“Our offense and defense were off. Even our freethrows hardly hit the mark,” coach Pido Jarencio told the Varsitarian. “But there is always room for improvement and this off-season we will polish every aspect of our game so that lapses will not happen again come the UAAP season.”

The Tigers played catch-up throughout the contest as the Recto-based cagers, displaying fluid offense and a menacing full-court pressure defense, buried the hatchet on their UST counterparts early in the first quarter.

DESIRE is their motivating fire.

Experience wanting, the UST Lady Shuttlecockers however showed where pure talent and determination could lead them: to the Promised Land.

The Lady Shuttlecockers finally arrested 13 years of luckless campaigns in the UAAP badminton circuit, posting a 3-0 whitewash of reigning champion Far Eastern University (FEU) in their best-of-five titular showdown last February 17 at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall.

“Determination was the biggest factor which helped them (Lady Shuttlecockers) beat more experienced opponents,” coach Noli Cajefe told the Varsitarian. “It was the best team I have seen in a long time.”

RELAYING miscues in the final touches of a must-win encounter weighed heavily on the UST Golden Sox’s back-to-back title drive as the Season 69 champions turned into victims of their own crime in a 3-5 Game 3 heartbreaker against last season’s bridesmaids Adamson University Falcons last March 2 at the Rizal Memorial Ballpark.

“We fell short on the defensive end,” assistant coach Sherwin Canlas told the Varsitarian. “The unnecessary errors in the endgame really hurt us.”

The Golden Sox uncharacteristically cluttered the field with defensive boners in the bottom of the eighth inning, resulting in two effortless Adamson runs by Falcon catcher Edward Landicho and left fielder Richard Siacor that suddenly melted UST’s precarious 3-2 seventh-inning lead.

IN A DISPLAY of togetherness among Thomasians from different sectors of the UST community, the second annual Community Friendship Basketball tournament was held from November 17 to February 23 at the UST Gym.

The tournament was graced by league pioneers Saturday Club and Thursday Club alongside teams composed of security guards, hospital employees, UST coaches, casual and contractual employees, janitors, faculty, and non-academic employees.

The championship trophy eventually went to the Thursday Club after narrowly escaping the varsity coaches with a 94-91 victory last February 23.

The coaches held the upper hand, 89-91, after volleyball coach Clarence Esteban hit an under-goal stab with 32 ticks left in the final canto.

In the ensuing play however, Tiger Cubs coach Allan Ascue committed a costly foul on Mythical Five member Julius Caesar Rabino who then split his charities to cut the coaches’ lead, 90-91.