UNDERSCORING their lofty billing in the local rowing scene, the UST Tiger Dragons posted a come-from-behind victory in the Philippine Dragonboat Federation (PDBF) Regatta competition to snare a historic fifth straight title last April 15 in Manila Bay.
The España-based rowers clocked a tournament-best 4:36:38 seconds to overcome bitter rivals De La Salle University (La Salle) and University of the Philippines (UP)-Diliman which placed second and third respectively.
With the PDBF plum in the bag, the Tiger Dragons became the first team in inter-collegiate rowing history to capture five consecutive titles in different tournaments.
The La Salle Rowing Crew registered 4:46.36 seconds, two ticks better than the 4:48:40 seconds effort of the UP Dragon Boat Team.
The competition followed a two-round format, with the team who will register the shortest time combined after two rounds to be declared as champions.
“It was just that we were able to maintain our high energy and will to win throughout the race,” UST team captain Christopher Cueto said.
The España-based rowing crew jumped out of the gates early in the first race and looked poised to blow away the opposition with its powerful strokes. A feisty UP crew, however, unleashed a burst of speed to catch UST at the 300-m mark.
UST though stuck to its original game plan, breaking away from UP at the 350-m mark when the latter succumbed to fatigue due to its inconsistent rowing pace.
The Tiger Dragons also lagged behind La Salle by as much as 15 meters in the first 250 meters of the second race, but their unfaltering strokes again spelled the difference as they overtook the fading La Salle crew at the 480-m mark.
Impressed by their exploits, the PDBF tapped the Tiger Dragons to represent the Philippines in the University Dragon Boat Games in China in September, which will not be a new challenge for the Thomasian rowers as they already placed third in their two previous international tilts last year. Raymond Jude M. Dumaual
