RECOVERING from their dismal campaign last year, the fierce UST judo teams placed first and second places in the UAAP judo tournament finals last Feb. 12 at the University of the Philippines (UP) Human Kinetics Gym.
The Lady Judokas, last season’s third-placers, dethroned defending champion UP to win their third UAAP championship in four years.
Tagged as the tournament’s dark horses, the wards of coach Jojo Arce proved to be pillars of strength, foiling UP’s title-retention bid.
“We were really surprise contenders for the other teams,” Arce told the Varsitarian.
Season 68 MVP Camille Hipolito made the UP gym her personal playground, crushing all her opponents, including UP’s Michelle Buyco in the +78 kg finals.
“(Hipolito) was just too much for her opponents,” Arce said. “When she was done with them, they were close to tears.”
RP Team member Jennifer Ong also won a gold, defeating De La Salle University’s Ma. Christina de la Rama in the -63 kg division.
Veteran judokas Michelle de Vera and Jane Capawa also had gold medals in the -78 kg and -48 kg divisions. Meanwhile, Kat Chua and Mary Jayne Haylo plucked silvers in the -57 kg and -70 kg divisions for UST.
The Lady Judokas finished with 50 points, while UP registered 45 markers.
Bouncing back
Despite a rookie-laden lineup, the UST Tiger Judokas defied the odds to finish second with 53 total points, three points behind UP.
SEAG veteran Dennis Catipon copped the gold in the -73 kg division, subduing UP’s Edgar Orcilla, a current National Judo Championships titlist.
UAAP neophytes Alexander Albor and Gian Carlo Saulo also contributed to the six-time UAAP champions’ medal haul, taking the gold in the -90 kg and -100 kg divisions. Saulo defeated PAN-ASIA jiu-jitsu champion Ralph Go of Ateneo. Veteran Jordan Carpio, meanwhile, salvaged bronze in the -90 kg division.
UST’s -66 kg bet Rency Calvelo was eliminated during the weigh-in by being overweight by .14 lbs. According to Arce, Calvelo would have delivered the points needed to overcome UP.
According to Arce, UST Judo’s “six-peat” architect, the Tiger Judokas’ solid performance this season gained the nods of the other teams after registering shameful third place finishes last year.
“I am very happy because we showed them that we are one of the teams to beat,” Arce said.
