WHEN the king of the UAAP jungle visited the Queen City of the South last April 20-27, everyone expected no less than an explosive clash – a battle royale among the finest collegiate athletes from all over the country. And when the battle-smoke cleared in this year’s Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) wars, the 29-time over-all champion University of Santo Tomas stood tall above all with its 20 golds, 20 silvers and 20 bronzes.
UST, which is representing National Capital Region-North, fielded in six teams in the seven-event tournament. The Male and Female Tracksters, the Golden Sox, the Male and Female Spikers and the Lady Dribblers completed the Santo Tomas delegation in the Cebu-hosted meet. The Growling Tigers, who was last year’s PRISAA cage titlist, were not able to participate this year due to commitments in other tournaments such as the Fr. Martin’s Cup.
Track and Field: Smashing performances
Four-time UAAP champions Lady Tracksters lived up to their fearsome reputation as they snared 13 gold medals, smashing nine meet records on its destructive path.
Veteran Lady Trackster Leslie Cercado led the way, registering three gold medals to her name. Cercado topped the 100 m and 200 m sprint events. In the former, she tied the meet record (12.20 sec). In the latter she established a new meet record (25.04).
The UAAP seasoned veteran also had no problem rising above her counterparts in the long jump event as she broke the previous tournament record with her 5.67-m performance.
Liza Yumbao, meanwhile, totally dominated the long-distance relay events as she swept the 3000 m, 5000 m and 10, 000 m relay events, hauling three new meet record gold medals.
Joining the barrage of record-breaking feats, Nhea Ann Barcena eclipsed the former high of 2:31 with a scintillating 2:18:1 finish in the 800 m relay event. Barcena again made another new meet record in the 1500 m relay, finishing the event at 4:53:2.
Tigress Racquel Castro continued UST’s dominance as she racked up another gold in the shotput event, adding one more individual record breaker with her 5.97 m distance throw.
In the team relay events, the Lady Tracksters were no different.
Producing four gold medals in record-breaking fashion, UST claimed the 4 x 100 m relay, 4 x 200 m relay, 4 x 800 m relay and the classical relay events.
Rounding up the medal romp are the silver finishes of Josephine de los Reyes (100 and 200 m dash), Mercy Caña (400 m dash), Castro (discuss throw), and Melanie Gida (high jump).
Lady Spikers: Conquering the odds
Locking horns with UAAP tournament sweeper and defending champion Far Eastern University in the Women’s Volleyball finals was no easy task for the Lady Spikers. Though overflowing with talent and limitless potential, the Tigresses were considered underdogs, even against a depleted Lady Tamaraws team.
But the team that finished a mediocre fourth place in the UAAP last season showed a totally different form in this time around as the Lady Spikers displayed poise and maturity. And that made all the difference.
Armed with a vastly-improved defense and running its well-known vaunted offense, UST drubbed FEU in four sets, 25-20,21-25,25-19,and 25-21, to take the PRISAA volleyball crown.
The Lady Spikers swarmed the FEU defense with their balance attack. Hard-hitting Joyce Pano, RP mainstay Joyce Calapati, veteran Kim Racaza, come-backing Theresa Romano, and Kate Co Yu Kang led the charge, employing a fluid game anchored on prolific blocking.
Though the Lady Tamaraws were able to take the second set, UST could not be denied its gold finish as it choked on the pressure in the next two sets and FEU readily folded, committing multiple errors in the crucial stretches.
Tiger Spikers: Developing a bad habit
One could call it a championship jinx, a bridesmaid curse, or a bad habit, but whatever the name it carries, one thing is for sure – it does not spell well for the Tiger Spikers.
Losing the championship encounters in the UAAP and the University Games in Bacolod, both against De La Salle University, the Tigers came in the PRISAA Men’s Volleyball finals prepared against the hometown Cebu squad, all pumped up to break their jinx.
But lady luck would not smile its way as UST could not find an answer to Region 9 hotshot Jamel Macasamat’s powering offense and found itself bowing in four sets, 27-25, 22-25, 17-25, and 19-25, to the hard-hitting Cebu Spikers.
The Tiger Spikers’ weak backline offense paved the way for Macasamat, Jay Valdez, Omar Kintanar, and Limuel Arreza to control the offensive after UST took a tight 27-25 initial set.
Team captain Emilio Reyes sparked UST in minute spurts, but the Cebu team, with the roaring crowd behind it, still managed to pull the upset.
In the elimination round, the Tigers were flawless, as they did not lose a single set, running over opponents almost effortlessly. Using its known well-rounded defense-offense game, UST was unstoppable and was a heavy favorite throughout.
Tigresses: Flashes of brilliance
Despite displaying flashes of brilliance in the tournament, the Tigresses failed to nail the PRISAA Basketball title as they bowed to a hot-shooting Davao team, 59-42, in the finals.
Facing a team that they had narrowly edged in the elimination round, the Lady Dribblers never had a fighting chance as Davao came firing away from the opening tip.
Davao controlled the pace throughout the game, securing the boards and holding their ground in defense.
Down by only six points at the half, 23-29, UST was tripped in the scoring race as Davao outgunned the Tigresses, 28-19, in the final half.
Amy Greta, Debbie Obiena and Jessie Sabaricos chipped in 19, 14, and 12 to boost the Davao offensive havoc. UST, on the other hand, had no players in double-figures as Caindee dela Cruz and Jenny Mondejar led the Tigresses with eight and six.
The decent runner-up finish was a welcome sign for the Tigresses who had a forgettable fifth-place finish last season.
Golden Sox: Short-lived run
The UST Golden Sox ran out of ammunition as it failed to match up against a feisty Region 10-Davao, 3-7, in the PRISAA Baseball crossover semifinals encounter.
Standing her ground in the first three innings, starting pitcher Mariano Tambor started to tire in the fourth inning as the Davao hitters readily exploited the fatigued pitcher, scoring two runs.
Tiger Batter team captain Sherwin Canlas, through a mighty hit in the left wing, opened up things for UST as he put Francis Candela home in the bottom of the fourth.
The Sox gained momentum and snatched the lead, 3-2, as it scored back-to-back runs in the sixth inning, courtesy of another spectacular hit from Candela and a Davao error.
The story turned in a completely different page in the seventh inning as the Davao offensive machinery clicked. Hitting with two men on bases, Davao’s Mike Vinoya kicked off the deciding run.
The UST defense panicked and appeared helpless as Davao continued to hit and loaded the bases. Bong Omallao gave the final blow that buried the Sox, 7-2, as he hit a deep one in the left field that drove home all three runners.
The Tigers tried a last-ditch effort as Candela stole a run in the bottom seventh but Davao broke UST’s hope with a clinching save that outs two runners.
