In the UAAP, UST has long stood as a dominant force, building a powerhouse sports program that has captured 48 general championships at the collegiate level and 24 in high school.
When its reach extended to Angelicum College in Quezon City following their 2017 integration, passing on that culture of winning became one of its key goals.
Nearly a decade after the integration, UST Angelicum College has developed athletes guided by the values of Dominican brotherhood and virtue, bringing the Thomasian colors to intercollegiate leagues such as the Women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association (WNCAA) and the Athletic Association of Private Schools while extending UST’s winning tradition beyond Manila.
Fr. John Andrew S. Bautista, O.P., UST Angelicum’s director for religious affairs, said sports development formed part of the school’s commitment to holistic formation.
“We do not just train and sharpen our minds; we also sharpen our physical attributes, physical bodies,” Bautista told the Varsitarian. “Just like UST Manila, we want to have that here. We want to show we can also be champions.”
Established in 1972, Angelicum went beyond simply affiliating with UST, incorporating key elements of the University’s basketball program into its system.
Noli Mejos, head coach of the UST Tiger Cubs under-16 squad, now oversees UST Angelicum’s boys’ teams in both Quezon City and Iloilo.
Assisting him is JM Lagumen, a former UST Growling Tigers guard who now serves as a Tiger Cubs assistant coach.
The squad participates in commercial competitions such as the United Basketball League, where several of the country’s leading high school programs also compete.
Mejos holds regular tryouts and supervises training sessions at UST Angelicum at least three times weekly.
Every few months, he also travels to Angelicum Iloilo to scout prospects and conduct practices.
For Mejos, UST Angelicum’s mission is clear: to build a strong basketball program that can also serve as a pipeline for UST.
“Ang utos sa akin ay pagandahin ‘yong programa, tapos palakasin ‘yong team,” he said. “Kapag gano’n kasi, maraming possible players na pumunta sa Angelicum tapos maka-transfer dito sa UST.”
“Kung puwede nga, doon na rin natin ilagay ‘yong ibang players natin dito sa Manila, lalo na kapag malakas na ‘yong program doon. Siyempre, para rin ‘to sa pride ng Angelicum na sumasabay sa programa dito sa UST.”
Among the UST Angelicum standouts who have advanced to the Tiger Cubs are Leo Lapastora, who debuted in Season 88, and Ray Allen Bañes, who is completing residency.
The UST Angelicum girls’ basketball team is also guided by familiar Thomasian figures. Growling Tigresses head coach Haydee Ong serves as a consultant to the UST Angelicum basketball program, bringing along her championship experience.
Two-time UAAP champions Eka Soriano and Agatha Bron serve as head coach and assistant coach, respectively, turning the squad into an extension of UST.
They guided UST Angelicum to a third-place finish in the 56th WNCAA season before winning the 2026 NCR Palaro girls’ 3×3 basketball championship.
The program has also produced rising talents such as Audry Duma, who recorded a rare quadruple-double of 17 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists, and 12 steals in her WNCAA debut during a 106-17 win over St. Jude Catholic School on Sept. 6, 2025.
“‘Yong sistema, more or less, gusto natin the same dito sa ginagawa natin sa UST,” Ong said, noting that she has allowed Soriano and Bron to develop their own coaching identities in Angelicum. “Hindi naman natin tatanggalin ’yon sa kanila on how they’re going to build the culture and the program.”
Ong regularly attends UST Angelicum practices and invites players to train with the Junior Growling Tigresses in UST Manila under coach Arsenio Dysangco.
“Hopefully, kung meron tayong makita na mga talents na puwede sa UST, of course, they are welcome to come here,” she said.
According to Bautista, efforts to align UST’s basketball leadership with UST Angelicum gained momentum after Fr. John Stephen Besa, O.P., assumed the role of rector and president in August 2024.
Besa envisions building a network of young athletes who could become UST’s next generation of elite players.
“It has allowed us to adopt systems and principles shaped by UST’s long-standing culture of athletic excellence and integrity, while continuing to nurture our own identity as an institution,” Bautista said.
“Kaya sinasabi namin sa mga players na kapag nandito kayo sa UST Angelicum, or naging varsity kayo dito, kung magaling na magaling kayo, most likely, ibabato namin kayo sa UST Manila.”
UST Angelicum fields boys’ basketball teams in the under-12 and under-17 divisions, along with a girls’ squad.
It also runs boys’ and girls’ volleyball programs, gradually strengthening its sports pipeline.
The school backs its athletic programs with cheerdance, pep, and street dance teams, alongside high school squads in badminton, table tennis, swimming, golf, chess, wushu, bowling, taekwondo, ballet, and gymnastics.
Its athletes have represented the school in national competitions such as the Philippine Youth Games (Batang Pinoy) and the Palarong Pambansa.
UST Angelicum characterizes its sports program as a “formative experience” meant to cultivate “resilience, leadership, and discipline.”
“Gradual ang aming vision to improve the team sports program of our school,” Bautista said.
“We aim to develop talents who can play on a bigger stage and also represent us, the Thomasian Angelicans,” he added. “We believe that the Thomasian tradition of excellence is our parameter. We want to excel even more, and to achieve that, we believe the Thomasian brand would help us elevate our own status and our own goals dito sa Angelicum.”
The school has also invested in competition-grade facilities such as the St. Vincent Ferrer Gymnasium, which features professional-standard and FIBA-approved Schelde Sports basketball systems, including a dunk-proof glass backboard and high-visibility digital scoreboards.
Beyond sports, UST Angelicum’s non-graded, self-paced learning system has supported students following nontraditional career paths.
Among them is Filipina racing driver Bianca Bustamante, who rose in prominence through multiple Formula 4 competitions while studying under the school’s homeschool program.
READ: Thomasian racer’s crazy journey leads her to victory in F1 Academy | The Varsitarian
“Because we can say that we are somewhat unique and non-traditional, we attract such talents to us,” Bautista said.
“That’s something we want to utilize. Perhaps, we can bring someone from our homeschool program to also join varsity teams in Manila once they become exceptionally good at their craft in college.”
For now, UST Angelicum hopes its collaboration with UST Manila will eventually result in a formal partnership that would allow the Manila campus varsity program to actively recruit its players.
Discussions with UST Institute of Physical Education and Athletics Director Fr. Rodel Cansancio, O.P., are ongoing, though progress has been gradual. Still, the talks have generated optimism for the Angelicum brand.
Looking ahead, UST Angelicum’s sports program hopes to achieve the same level of success UST has attained.
“We would like to take this even further to the point na makilala talaga si UST Angelicum as a sister school that is not just bearing the UST name, but standing on its own with its own brand of competitiveness and excellence,” Bautista said.
“Gusto kong dumating sa point na kapag sinasabi mo ang UST Angelicum, hindi lang siya extension but UST tradition ’yan. Talagang excellent ’yan when it comes to sports.”
