THE UST Lady Jins were crowned champions while two-time champions Tiger Jins failed to defend their title and settled for a runner-up finish in the UAAP taekwondo tournament at The Arena in San Juan last Sept. 25.
The Lady Jins held off a tough De La Salle University squad, 4-3, for the gold while the Tiger Jins fell short against La Salle's men's team, 3-4, and settled for silver.
All eyes were on Lady Jin Jane Narra as she entered the seventh and deciding match against her Lady Archer counterpart. Narra hurled several body blows and only let her opponent counter once for a 3-1 tally at the 1:30 mark of the first round.
A near head kick could have given UST a five-point lead, but the officials ruled it wasn’t a clean hit upon review. The round still concluded in favor of Narra, 4-2.
"I just kept in mind that we really needed to win. I felt the pressure but at the same time excited to prove to them that the championship is really ours," she said.
Tiger Jin JM Ramos lost to his La Salle foe in a close 5-6 mark. Had he won, Ramos could have laid the path for last season’s MVP and Athlete of the Year Christian Al Dela Cruz to close out the game and win the title anew.
Dela Cruz proved too much for his Green Archer opponent, taking the first round, 6-1, before closing the match at 12-6.
The second round began with a flurry of body kicks from Narra for an early 7-2 edge, scoring off a solid hit to the armor and a near hit to the head to cap the match at 8-2.
Newly minted Most Valuable Player (MVP) Abby Cham gave the Lady Jins their first winover the Lady Archers, 1-0, after the first and second matches went to La Salle.
Rookie of the Year Jovylou Meguillo notched UST’s third win.
The Lady Jins went on to demolish Far Eastern University, 6-1, in a non-bearing match. La Salle's Kevin Sia was awarded with the MVP honors while Green Archer Kristoffer Uy is the season's Rookie of the Year in the men's division.
In the juniors’ division, the UST jins copped bronze after ceding to eventual titlist University of the East (2-3) and runner-up FEU (1-4) while dominating Ateneo (5-0) and De La Salle-Zobel (4-1).
Poomsae royalty
The UST male and female poomsae teams swept their divisions and snatched all the gold medals last Sept. 19 after the sport debuted this season as an official UAAP event.
Shaneen Sia led the female poomsae team as she posted a convincing 8.35 mark in the individual female category over Ateneo’s 8.07 and FEU’s 8.05.
Marvin Gabriel followed suit and took home another gold with an 8.52 score in the men’s individual category.
In the mixed pair category, Rodolfo Reyes, Jr. and Yuei Murillo edged University of the Philippines (UP) and Ateneo with an 8.24 tally.
The triumvirate of Ronnel Avenido, Gabriel and Reyes, Jr. scored 8.34 to escape UP’s 8.30 in the male team division.
Airish Cenizal, Raisa Libiran and Jocel Ninobla posted an 8.24 tally after topping FEU and La Salle to complete the sweep. Ralph Joshua D.R. Hernandez
