AGAIN, the numbers have spoken.
Following an arduous first-semester campaign, UST once more is perched comfortably atop the UAAP general championship ladder, capturing four titles and three runner-up finishes along the way for a commanding 154 point-aggregate.
Stalking the “ten-peat” UAAP overall titlists is the University of the Philippines (UP) with 126 points for second place while Far Eastern University (FEU) was a distant third with 117 markers.
Epitomizing UST’s supremacy were the men’s table tennis team and the women’s chess teams who struck gold in their respective events. Also finishing first were the women’s taekwondo and swimming squads.
UST juggernaut
Drawing sterling performances from MVP Reygea Rosales and Glen Rodriguez, the resilient Tiger Paddlers captured their sixth title in seven years after unseating defending champion FEU, offsetting the Lady Paddlers’ botched title defense against their Morayta-based counterparts.
The Growling Tigers and Tigresses’ showing, however, left much to be desired with their inability to defend their respective basketball crowns after paltry fourth and third place finishes, respectively.
In the pool wars, the Female Tigersharks asserted their dominance anew as they captured their fourth straight UAAP championship in convincing fashion. Following impressive performances from Liane Marquez and Josephine Pilapil, the women’s team hauled two golds, 10 silvers and 10 bronzes for a total of 224.5 points.
Not to be left behind were the Tigersharks who reaped 192 points from their four golds, five silvers and five bronzes to backstop Season 70 champion UP.
The Lady Woodpushers also stamped their authority on the boards, trampling the opposition with an insurmountable 35 points to nail their third consecutive title. The Male Woodpushers, however, failed to weather the competitive storm as they limped to fifth place.
Meanwhile, the rampaging Lady Jins essayed a historic “five-peat”, thanks to MVP Kathleen Valenzuela and Rookie of the Year Emron Mae Golding, who spearheaded the squads’ 5-0 romp in the UAAP taekwondo hostilities.
Unfortunately, the Tiger Jins failed to reassert their domination after failing to contain a gritty FEU squad. The defeat ended the Tiger Jins’ bid for an unprecedented sixth straight title.
Like their taekwondo counterparts, the Tiger Judokas were also unable to retain their title, falling to arch-rival UP despite Romeo Arellano’s gold-medal exploits in the lightweight division.
On the other hand, the Lady Judokas slid to third place behind UP and La Salle.
In beach volleyball action, the Tiger Spikers succumbed to the rampaging Tamaraws of FEU and the soaring Falcons of Adamson University for a lowly third-place finish.
The Lady Spikers fared much worse, bearing the brunt of the opponents’ onslaught to hog the cellar at sixth spot.
If the past seasons are any indication, the Thomasian freight train is set to gather more steam when the second-semester events unfurl this November. The UST volleyball, tennis, baseball and football teams are top-billed to repeat their titular quests from Season 69.
