THE UST Tiger Judokas secured four gold, two silver and two bronze medals for the Philippines at the Bandung Sambo Open in Bandung, Indonesia, on Saturday, June 8.
Tiger Judoka Troy Legaspi clinched the gold medal in the men’s junior sport sambo under-64 kg category.
Legaspi dominated Indonesia’s Wahyu Saepudin with a 4-0 victory in the quarterfinals and repeated this performance with another 4-0 win against Singapore’s Javier Yong in the semifinals.
In the finals, Legaspi completed the sweep by defeating his British opponent, 4-0.
“The tournament gave me exposure and experience that would make me ready for the upcoming UAAP Season 87 especially since we judokas are hungry to bring our crown back,” Legaspi told the Varsitarian.
Legaspi also secured a bronze medal in the men’s senior sport sambo under-64 kg category.
In the women’s junior sport sambo under-54 kg division, UAAP Season 86 silver medalist Princess Cortez claimed the gold medal by defeating her younger sister and fellow Lady Judoka Angel Cortez, 4-0, in under a minute in the finals.
Both sisters swept their quarterfinal and semifinal matches, leading to an all-Philippines championship bout.
“The mindset we had during this tournament was different compared to the past competitions at the national level,” the older Cortez said. “We were more determined to win and hungry for success as we thought of the training we went through in preparation for this preseason tournament and the people who supported us in the Philippines.”
“Aside from the mindset, the techniques we performed in the competition were more polished and were well executed to win every match we has.”
Princess also won gold in the women’s senior sport sambo under-59 kg division, while Angel took silver in the women’s senior sport sambo under-54 kg category.
Former Tiger Judoka Cresente Navares earned gold in the men’s junior sport sambo under-71 kg category and added a bronze medal in the senior category of the same weight division.
