Tag: 2014

WITH THE UAAP general championship within reach, Thomasian athletes are riding on the momentum of a solid performance in the first semester. Here is the Varsitarian's forecast on how the remainder of Season 77 could unfold for UST.

VOLLEYBALL

Golden Tigresses
Last Year: Sixth Place
Prediction: Finals

With an intact lineup bolstered by highly regarded rookies, the UST Golden Tigresses are raring to return to the Final Four after missing out in the past two years of the UAAP.

Team captain Pamela Lastimosa and veteran Carmela Tunay are expected to lead the squad in its quest to revive the UST volleyball’s winning tradition.

THE UST football teams suffered separate losses at the start the UAAP Season 77 football tournament last Nov. 30.

The Golden Booters were edged in a shootout with defending champion Far Eastern University (FEU) and absorbed a 4-7 defeat at the FEU-Diliman pitch.

UST team captain Gino Clarino converted his second penalty kick in the 70th minute while Steven Anotado connected on a long kick in the 74th mark to cut their deficit to two, 3-5.

But FEU’s Jesus Melliza delivered the dagger goal in the 75th minute on the other end of the pitch for a 6-3 advantage.

THE UST Golden Tigresses suffered their third straight loss, this time at the hands of defending champion Ateneo de Manila University Lady Eagles, 21-25, 13-25, 19-25, in the UAAP Season 77 women's volleyball tournament at The Arena in San Juan last Dec. 6.

The Golden Tigresses dropped to a 1-3 win-loss record, while the Lady Eagles remained undefeated in four games.

UST head coach Odjie Mamon attributed his team's third consecutive defeat to his seniors' poor performance.

Veterans Pamela Lastimosa and Carmela Tunay scored only two points each as the Tigresses have lost nine of their last 10 sets since dismantling the University of the East in their season opener.

AT THE end of the first half of UAAP Season 77, the UST Tigers are poised to reclaim the overall championship from defending champion De La Salle University.

The Tigers garnered a total of 152 points, highlighted by championships from men and women’s judo, men’s taekwondo and women’s beach volleyball.

UST also bagged a silver medal in the men’s beach volleyball and placed third in men’s swimming, women’s table tennis and taekwondo, and poomsae which gave a slim five-point breathing room for the Tigers over La Salle.

SEVERAL alumni and a Thomasian athlete will represent the country as part of the national volleyball team that will compete in the 2015 South East Asian (SEA) Games in Singapore on June 5 to 16.

The Philippine Volleyball Federation recently announced its final 18-man and 18-woman lineups where eight Thomasian athletes were included in both squads, namely Mark Gil Alfafara, Henry Pecaña, Jayson Ramos, John Paul Torres, Rhea Dimaculangan, Maika Ortiz, Aiza Maizo-Pontillas, and Mary Jean Balse.

For the past few years, UST has produced a number of players donning the national colors in previous SEA Games. Among them were Angeli Tabaquero and Venus Bernal, who were part of the 2013 women’s national pool.

DUE TO the change in the University’s academic calendar and priority given to the studies of its athletes, UST missed the annual University Games (UniGames) held at the University of San Agustin in Iloilo last Oct. 20 to 28.

The Institute of Physical Education and Athletics (IPEA) decided not to send a delegation in the annual tournament, which serves as a preseason for second semester sports, since UST athletes were still attending classes.

FROM a player to a UST coach to a national coach, Odjie Mamon hopes to stay true to the winning tradition of Thomasian volleyball.

The newly-minted coach of Philippine Cobra, the country’s men’s volleyball team, has been with UST since his high school days and has been a fixture at the UAAP where he won three championships as a Tiger Spiker from 1988 to 1993.

The former middle blocker recalled how the UAAP has changed since his stint as a player to now where he is the head coach for both the Golden Tigresses and the Tiger Spikers.

UAAP competition has become tougher, but UST is still not keen on seeking more private benefactors to lure better athletes.

Fr. Ermito de Sagon, O.P., director of the Institute of Physical Education and Athletics (IPEA), insisted that the University would not spend big amounts of money for sports just because it’s a “well-known school,” saying the practice was unethical.

“We maintain that our athletes are amateurs. If they want to play in UST, we welcome them but those who think they need to get something out of their skill and are being offered [something] somewhere else, they may go,” he told the Varsitarian.

PROMISING an improved lineup, the UST Tracksters are aiming for nothing less than a gold-medal finish, hoping to end the Far Eastern University’s decade-long dominance of the UAAP athletics tournament.

“Positive ako na mas malaki ang chance ngayon na mag-champion ang women’s team, pero sa men’s team, sana lang ma-retain pa rin ang second [place],” coach Emmanuel Calipes said.

The women’s team getting a boost in the middle and long distance run, Calipes is confident that the Female Tracksters can finally reclaim the crown after 12 years.

“Ninety percent sure [ako] na makukuha namin ang championship this year. I-aassure ko na magiging maganda ang performance ng team pag dating ng competition,” he told the Varsitarian.

THE UST Growling Tigers will have to wait for UAAP Season 78 for a shot at redemption after being snubbed in the Luzon-Metro Manila leg of the 2014 Philippine Collegiate Champions League (PCCL) slated on Nov. 7 to 10 in Tanauan, Batangas.

For the first time since 2010, UST will miss the annual national men’s basketball championships after organizers changed the format for inviting participants.

In the past, the PCCL invited the top six schools from the men’s basketball tournaments of UAAP and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) with the fifth and sixth teams serving as wildcards. UST was supposed to join after finishing sixth in UAAP Season 77 until the format was changed, allowing only the Final Four teams to compete.