The UST Tiger Judokas captured nine medals in the Philippine Ultimate Judo Championship International Open held at Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 4.
The Tiger Judokas bagged three gold medals courtesy of Tristan Reyes in the +100 kg category, Kyan Ballecer in the -90 kg category, and Randy Ferrera in the -73 kg category.
Rodge Bernal (-90 kg) and Juan Evangelista (-66 kg) won two silver medals for UST in their respective divisions.
Meanwhile, Mark Quirimit and Albrene Broja shared bronze in the -55 kg category. Rounding out the medal tally were Jeordan Caguicla’s and Jandrei Sotto’s bronzes in the -100 kg and -73 kg divisions, respectively.
UST head coach Steve Esteban lauded the team’s execution but said there is still room for improvement in their ground control.
“Effective at efficient naman mga execution nila ng mga throws,” Esteban told the Varsitarian. “Medyo kinulang sa ground control, improve pa namin ‘yun.”
The competition came two months after their seven-medal haul in the Southeast Asian Judo Championships at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
For Esteban, such international exposure has boosted the team’s development ahead of UAAP Season 88.
“Exposure to different skills and psychological development ang nakuha namin,” he said. ”Karagdagang lakas na ng loob para sa local competitions dahil na rin bang lahi ang nakatapat nila. Hopefully, mas may tapang na sila sa UAAP.”
The UAAP judo tournament is slated for the second semester.
