A WIDELY-CONSIDERED UAAP favorite, the UST taekwondo squad has lived up to its promise as it has been demolishing the opposition with ease.
Boasting of tested talents from the national pool, the Tiger jin’s roster is quite formidable, even intimidating. Coach Dindo Simpao’s mix of personnel still has the tools to dominate despite their recent academic troubles.
With the UST jin’s impressive outing in the Milo National Taekwondo Open and its contribution to the South East Asian (SEA) Games effort, the Tiger jins have solidified their status as one of the top collegiate teams in the country.
A testament to this would be the squad’s domination of the 2001 Milo National Interschool Taekwondo Championships last September 23 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium. Winning the over-all championship in the men’s and women’s senior divisions, UST copped the title in striking fashion as most of its entries garnered gold medals.
Absentees
Sorely short-handed with SEA Games campaigners Jefferthom Go, Tshomlee Go and Mark Rivero opting to rest after flying back from Malaysia, the Male jins had no choice but to field in a rather obscure roster.
Despite having none of the international competition credentials of the absent jins, the UST jins still proved to be too much for their adversaries.
On the women’s side, bantamweight Josephine Strachan and flyweight Diorlyn Papelera did not join the roster due to health reasons.
Strachan, who barely missed a SEA Games stint, could not play because of a fever while Papelera nursed an ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) problem.
Lesser-known jins
Anchored by team captain Francis Mercado, the Male jins earned four gold medals to rule the men’s senior division. Mercado, who beat Joseph Aguilar of the University of Asia and the Pacific for the middleweight title, jumpstarted the Tiger jins’ bid for the championship.
Despite the absence of their more popular teammates, Mercado felt good about his team’s chances of dominating the tournament.
After falling behind 2-1 in the first round, Mercado mounted an aggressive attack in the second to close the gap. Aguilar’s play became more predictable so that Mercado snagged the gold in dramatic fashion.
The wily veteran ended up coming from behind to win 3-3 by virtue of superiority.
Featherweight Rodolfo Valenzuela Jr. added to the Tiger jins’ gold medal tally as he upended Ateneo’s Dino Aguirre for the 62-67 kg. diadem. Valenzuela did his homework against his potential UAAP nemesis to win convincingly, 7-2.
Arnold Valenzuela tried to do his brother one better as he snagged the bantamweight gold from Clifford Maalan. Playing through an injury, Valenzuela wiggled out a close 6-4 victory despite falling behind early.
Coach Dindo Simpao’s rookies stepped up their play as Alex Briones and Gerald Gregorio ended with podium finishes.
Briones, an Asian Junior Championships bronze medallist, won the welterweight gold against Letran’s Allen Casimiro. Finweight Gregorio, however, bowed to Ateneo’s Karym Laidan for the silver.
Powerhouse women
Expected to once again come out on top in the UAAP, the UST Lady Jins are showing their mettle this early.
Fresh from her silver-medal finish in the recent SEA Games, featherweight Kalindi Tamayo eased to victory against Jose Rizal University’s Marlyn Kanit in the 55-59 kgs. competition. The BSE junior took advantage of her opponent’s relative inexperience to fashion out a lopsided 5-0 victory.
The two-time SEAG silver medallist attributed her lopsided win to the superior experienceshe hadbeen mastering as a member of the RP national taekwondo team.
After building a comfortable 3-0 lead in the first round, Tamayo played cautiously in the homestretch to earn a 5-0 victory.
In an all-UST women’s finweight final, SEA Games competitor Daleen Cordero beat Nancy Remollena to capture the 47 kgs. title.
