UST retained its general championships after the conclusion of the seniors and juniors divisions of UAAP Season 86, with the closing ceremony held at the Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday, May 29.
UST was named the general champion in the seniors division for the seventh straight season and in the juniors division for the eighth consecutive season.
UST accumulated nine gold, seven silver and five bronze medals, totaling 332 points in the collegiate division. The haul was two bronze medals more than last season’s 9-7-5 medal tally.
“Iyong support ng mga admins sa University and at the same time ‘yong support ng community, and then support ng mga coaches, talagang pinaghirapan nila ‘yan na i-train ‘yong mga atleta natin, together with the cooperation of our student athletes,” UST IPEA athletics moderator Rodrigo Sambuang told the Varsitarian.
“Ginawa nila lahat para ma-maintain ‘yong general championship.”
“Nasa training din kasi ‘yan, talagang naka-focus ang mga bata para makuha nila ‘yong championship. Kung hindi man championship, ang target ng mga teams nasa podium lang dapat 1st, 2nd, or 3rd lang ‘yong target.”
This marked UST’s 47th general championship title in the collegiate level and 23rd in the juniors division, reinforcing its status as the winningest school in the league.
In the seniors division, UST won gold in nine events: women’s 5×5 and 3×3 basketball, men’s and women’s beach volleyball, men’s chess, men’s tennis, men’s table tennis, women’s kyorugi, and poomsae.
The Male Woodpushers went undefeated in Season 86, securing their third consecutive men’s chess championship at the FEU Tech Gym on Nov. 19.
The Tiger Paddlers claimed their fourth consecutive and 30th overall championship by defeating the Ateneo Blue Eagles in the men’s table tennis finals at the Amoranto Sports Complex on Nov. 23.
The UST Poomsae Jins won gold in the poomsae tournament at the Marikina Sports Center on Nov. 27.
The Tiger Sands retained their titles and completed their second consecutive golden double in the beach volleyball tournaments which ended on Nov. 28.
On Nov. 29, the Lady Jins defended their title by sweeping the Season 86 women’s kyorugi tournament at the Marikina Sports Center.
The UST Growling Tigresses won both the women’s 5×5 and 3×3 basketball titles in one season. They secured their first championship in 17 years by ending NU’s reign in 5×5 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Dec. 6, and then repeated the victory over the Lady Bulldogs in the 3×3 basketball finals on May 5 at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay.
The Male Tennisters defended their throne by surviving the Ateneo Blue Eagles in Game 3 of their finals series in men’s tennis at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Court on April 7.
UST also earned silver in women’s tennis, men’s fencing, and men’s kyorugi, while the Tiger Judokas were runners-up in the men’s and women’s judo tournaments.
Both the Golden Spikers and Golden Tigresses reached the finals for the first time since Season 73 but fell short against NU, finishing with silver.
UST had bronze finishes in women’s swimming, women’s fencing, women’s athletics, softball and men’s football.
Despite scoring 332 points in the collegiate division, four points lower than its 336 points in Season 85, UST maintained a significant lead over its opponents.
De La Salle University (269 points) and University of the Philippines (260 points) took silver and bronze, respectively, for the second consecutive season. Ateneo De Manila University (250 points), National University (226 points), Far Eastern University (105 points), University of the East (104 points), and Adamson University (95 points) finished fourth through eighth.
In the juniors division, UST accumulated 260 points with eight gold, seven silver, and four bronze medals.
The high school athletes achieved golden doubles in swimming and table tennis and dominated the boys’ judo, girls’ athletics, girls’ 3×3 basketball, and girls’ beach volleyball events.
In the boys’ division, UST secured six silver medals in chess, kyorugi, athletics, football, fencing, and 3×3 basketball. The Junior Lady Judokas were the sole female silver medalists from UST in the high school division.
UST claimed bronze in girls’ chess, girls’ volleyball, girls’ fencing and boys’ beach volleyball.
De La Salle Santiago Zobel School finished second overall in the juniors division with 152 points, while Adamson University secured third place with 137 points.
Under the UAAP point system, 15 points are awarded to the champion team of an event, 12 to the second place, and 10 to the third place.
Season 86 ran from October 2023 to May 2024.
The University of the Philippines will host UAAP Season 87, which is expected to start in the fourth quarter of the year. with reports from Ernest Martin G. Tuazon
