THE UST Lady Judokas dominated the 2025 Pilipinas Sambo National Open, collecting 12 medals across the women’s senior and junior categories on July 19 at the Tagaytay Combat Sports Center in Cavite.
UST bagged five gold, five silver, and two bronze medals in the tournament, which was participated in by some of the country’s top judo athletes.
For UST head coach Gerard Arce, the tournament was a step forward in the team’s development.
“We just want to join as many tournaments as possible to gauge their skills and performance,” Arce told the Varsitarian. “We’re also exposing our athletes to competitions to gain experience and boost their confidence as well as part of the learning process.”
“This also gave them the opportunity to face their rivals from other UAAP schools and scout their opponents.”
Jeniva Consigna topped the under-65 kg sports sambo category, while Mariah Lua snagged gold in the under-80 kg division.
Princess Cortez and Samantha Vidor also won gold in the under-59 kg and under-50 kg categories, respectively, rounding out UST’s senior division gold medalists.
Meanwhile, Arielle Alcoran earned UST’s lone gold in the juniors division after dominating the under-50 kg category.
Grace Gangan (under-80 kg), Angel Cortez (under-54 kg), Sophie Madamba (over-80 kg) and Abigail Gangan (under-59 kg) took home silver medals.
Abigail Gangan also competed in the juniors’ under-59 kg category, where she added another silver.
Iahna Jaboneta copped bronze in the under-80 kg category, while Faiza Jenina Asilum capped off the haul with bronze in the under-54 kg division.
The tournament is part of the Lady Judokas’ preparations for UAAP Season 88, where they aim to improve on their silver-medal finish last year.
“Winning medals gave them confidence, but that’s not our main goal. It’s the tip of the iceberg…our focus is the UAAP,“ Arce said.
“We’re gaining experience and learnings for every competitions na sinasalihan ng mga bata. Mas marami pang malalaking laro ang inaasahang sasalihan pa namin, hoping na mas tumatag at tumibay pa sila nang husto.”
