UNEXPECTED opponents and the exit of a key player became the main reasons why the male tracksters, despite nailing a strong first-place finish last season, made a repeat of the 64th UAAP season drama, skidding down to fourth place in the just concluded 66th season.
After a year of rigorous training, all seemed well for the Tiger Tracksters until a key player decided to abandon them in January, just two months before the tournament. Joar Calvadores opted to enroll for the third semester at the De La Salle University after four years of wearing the Tiger jersey.
“Malaking kawalan talaga siya sa team,” trackster Teodoro de la Peña said. Not surprisingly, Calvadores, the former team captain, contributed greatly to the Green Archers’ campaign when he won the gold medal in the 200-meter steeple chase and the 4×100-meter relay, a known La Salle Waterloo in the past seasons.
Calvadores’ exit in the lineup became the biggest headache of the team.
Also, unexpected opponents suddenly mushroomed in the games. “Mercenary” athletes as some would choose to call them.
“They are mercenary athletes kasi wala iyong tunay na essence ng pagiging product ng UAAP,” Trackster coach Manny Calipes said.
Mercenary athletes are seasoned veterans of other leagues, usually aged 20-23 years old.
Mary Grace Melgar, a University of the East trackster, who has been taking her masterals for the third year, was one of the unexpected hurdles the Lady Tracksters bumped into during the tournament.
Melgar snatched the gold in the 200-meter dash (md), 400 md, 100-meter hurdles, 400-meter hurdles, 4 x 100-meter relay and the silver in the 100 md.
Though faced with sudden unexpected troubles, the Lady Tracksters stood strong in the thick of the battle as they settled for a noteworthy second place.
Lady tracksters Mercy Caña, Josephine Delos Reyes, Diwata Pelaez and Leslie Cercado even managed to pull through with a record in the 4 x 100-meter relay as they broke their own 48.78 seconds, which they carved out last year, with a pulse-pounding 47.94 seconds.
After seeing how great a menace the so-called ‘mercenary’ athletes could be in the tournament, still the calmly Calipes wishes to stick to the old formula of raising one’s own athletes.
“We could use the same tactic, pero ayoko,” Calipes stressed. “Someone has been offering his services since last year, thrower ng Air Force, gusto mag-set ng record, pero ayoko. Parang labas (nung player), bayaran,” he added.
Calipes regarded the method of hiring veteran athletes to play in the UAAP as “legal na pandaraya.” “If ever maglalagay ako ng masteral athletes, produkto natin.”
The trackster’s training goes all year round, joining various competitions like the CHED palaro, National Open, Colgate Relay, University Games, Asean University Games and some international competitions.
Lady Trackster Josephine Delos Reyes, however, views that the number of entries caused a big hitch in their campaign for a title. “Hindi sila makapagrecruit ng maraming players, hindi nila alam kung saan ilalagay. Kulang sa quarters, pagkain at tirahan,” she said. She also added that the team somehow became “overconfident” in some degree.
Next year, however, will be a different story as far as Calipes is concerned as the junior tracksters displayed a praiseworthy performance clinching the top spot in both the boys’ and girls’ category. Calipes sees a bright future ahead for the seniors by elevating the juniors.
