Tag: June 25, 2014

THOMASIAN athletes dominated the 4th POC-PSC Philippine National Games last May 16 to 25.

Tiger Spikers Mark Gil Alfafara and Kris Roy Guzman took home the championship in the men’s beach volleyball tournament after surviving the pair from Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Aga Tahiluddin and Halim Khan, 21-23, 26-24, 15-8, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium.

The UST duo lost all first sets of their six games but managed to come back for a perfect 6-0 win-loss record.

“Nahirapan kami mag-adjust sa mga unang sets dahil konti lang ‘yung araw na magakasama kami ng partner ko sa training dahil sa summer classes niya at na-admit ako sa hospital a week before the games,” said Guzman, UAAP Season 76 beach volleyball Rookie of the Year.

FOR THE second straight year, the UST Tiger Cubs made an early exit in the Filoil Flying V Hanes Premiere Cup.

The Cubs went cold early in the second half and suffered a 48-66 beating at the hands of the San Sebastian-Recoletos Golden Staglets at The Arena in San Juan last May 30.

UST lost its last four outings and finished the preseason tournament with a 1-4 win-loss record.

After a close first half, 27-32, against the NCAA powerhouse, UST surrendered nine unanswered points to open the third period as the Staglets pulled away, 41-27.

Nicole Luna tried to keep UST in the game with six straight points to cut the deficit, 33-41, but the Staglets’ ball movement and rebounding was too much for the struggling Cubs.

THIS former UST High School standout hopes to finally become a full-fledged Growling Tiger.

Alvin Ungria, a former UAAP juniors mythical five member who averaged 15.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per game during his senior year, was relegated to Team B due to the presence of more established wingmen in Jeric Teng and Kevin Ferrer.

With Teng now in the PBA, Ungria hopes to move up to Team A and finally fulfill his potential.

Undersized for the forward position, the 5'11" Ungria is working on his dribbling skills to fill in the shooting guard position left vacant by Teng.

“Okay lang sa’kin munang maging role player, tutulungan ‘yung team, sunod lang sa sinasabi ng coach,” he said should he make the cut.

OVER the years, schools have recognized how other UAAP events are as important as basketball in vying for the overall title.

This was how Jasmine Payo, senior sports reporter of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, described how De La Salle University outplayed UST for the general championship in the last two years—via slightly different margins but in the same, slow-but-sure and dominant fashion.

“Most UAAP schools have seen the importance of developing a university sports program,” she said. “Focus has gone beyond basketball, hence, recruitment in other sports has also become competitive.”