WHAT seemed like an insurmountable lead by De La Salle in the overall tally for the 66th UAAP general crown became history as the University of Santo Tomas roared back behind four varsity championships and two runner up finishes to seize a four-point lead, 182-178, over its Taft-based counterparts based on an unofficial tally by the Institute of Physical Education and Athletics.
Picking up from where they left off at the end of the first half, the UST athletes opened the second half with a bang, bringing home the championships in both the male and female divisions of the taekwondo and judo tournaments.
At the end of the first half of the UAAP season, UST found itself behind DLSU and UP by 18 and 10 points, respectively.
What contributed to De La Salle’s slide in the overall tally was its third place finish in men’s Taekwondo while its women’s team finished a poor sixth. Meanwhile, the De La Salle Judokas settled for runner up honors in the men’s division and landed fifth in the ladies’ division.
On the other hand, lawn tennis became an all-DLSU affair as its men’s team foiled UST’s grandslam bid by winning the crown over the defending champions. Likewise, the De La Salle women’s team swept the tournament for the second straight year to automatically snare the title, relegating UST to runner-up.
UST sports officials are optimistic that the school will annex its 31st UAAP general championship with baseball, softball, badminton, track and field, fencing, and football as the only events left to be settled. Alder T. Almo
