THE UST Ultimate Frisbee team settled for a runner-up finish after absorbing a 5-15 beating against University of the Philippines’ Diliman Ultimate Organization (DUO) in the 2nd National Ultimate Collegiate Championships at the UP Sunken Garden last May 12.
Kaycee Bernardino and Inaki Melchor scored two-straight goals for Espanya United, but UP broke the game open with the steady execution of Emman Rodil, who facilitated multiple goals from Migs Ocampo and Julian Paterno to give DUO a commanding 12-4 lead.
Jared Chua secured the fifth goal for UST after intercepting a pass from a UP defender in the end zone, but Oli Chaluyan sealed the deal for DUO after connecting on a short pass in the left flank to ice their second-straight championship, 5-15.
Things started out rough for United as the UP DUO broke the ice 10 seconds into the final game via a Chaluyan goal. The defending champions racked up four more quick scores, but Ysa Chua kept UST within striking distance after connecting on two long passes from Simon Aranas and Ricoh De Veyra to cut the lead to three, 2-5.
“One thing I noticed is that the team lacked energy and moral support. We lost our fighting spirit halfway through the game,” team captain Tin Garcia said.
Espanya United racked up seven consecutive wins after dropping its first game against De La Salle University en route to the finals. The run included victories over San Beda College in the quarterfinals and Ateneo de Manila University in the semi-finals.
In its Final Four matchup against the Eagles, Espanya United started flat, allowing Ateneo to pull away early, 1-5, after back-to-back hits from Nina Buenaflor.
UST looked like a goner after Angelo Gonzaga erected a 6-2 Ateneo lead with less than 10 minutes left in the soft cap period but Alvin Pura assisted three of the next four goals to Bernardino, Wes Diaz and Ysa Chua to tie the count at 6-all.
UST and Ateneo exchanged multiple turnovers before Peter Regis nailed the deciding point after catching a short backhand pass from Pura in the right flank to hand the win for UST.
“We were down but we wanted to give [them] a good fight. Nag-power line kami all the way to universal point and we played with determination,” said Garcia.
In the quarterfinals, United needed the heroics of Emmanuel Delos Angeles to survive San Beda College, 9-7.
With the score tied at 7, Delos Angeles scored via a long pass in the centerfield to put UST ahead, 8-7.
In the ensuing play, he busted his lip after a collision with a teammate but was able to block a game tying attempt of Troy Carbungco before racing down the field to score via another long pass to win it for UST.
