Tag: No. 8

FOR MANY years, UST has consistently produced Philippine team-calibre players.

This summer, three Thomasian athletes will be donning the national colors in upcoming international events.

Growling Tiger Kevin Ferrer will suit up for the Sinag Pilipinas basketball squad scheduled to see action in the Southeast Asian Games in June in Singapore.

Meanwhile, UAAP Season 77 Best Blocker Marivic Meneses and Rookie of the Year EJ Laure were part of a Philippine team that defied expectations and snagged seventh place in the Asian Women’s Under-23 Volleyball Championships last May 1 to 9.

ANOTHER YEAR, another missed opportunity for the UST Golden Tigresses.

The saying “nice guys finish last” sometimes holds true for sports, and the Tigresses, nice as they are, once again practically finished last after failing to enter the Final Four of the UAAP women’s volleyball tournament for the third straight season.

The Tigresses, with a championship-caliber lineup on paper, proved one of the more disappointing UST teams in recent memory.

This is not a dig at the team, that sparked a mid-season outburst that put them as high as third place, regaining the Thomasians’ attention and excitement. But as the UAAP season progress, for unknown reasons, the Tigresses faltered.

UST's final run at the UAAP overall title will depend on the performance of its remaining squads.

Here is the last installment of the Varsitarian’s fearless forecast for Season 76.

BASEBALL
Last year: Third place
Prediction: Runner-up

Absorbing heavy blows from losing last season’s top pitcher and team captain Irvin Tuazon, Season 74 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Nikko Reyes and third base man Gerald Mitra, the UST Golden Sox need to work on chemistry among the players if they are to improve from last year’s third-place finish.

ASIDE from the Quadricentennial Pavilion, a new lair will soon be available for Thomasian athletes.

Temporarily known as the “Practice court with Mezzanine,” the new three-story building just beside the state-of-the-art Quadricentennial Pavilion will house facilities that could better cater to the needs of Thomasian athletes.

Fr. Roberto Pinto, O.P., director of the Facilities Management Office, said the construction of the arena was intended mainly to “utilize” the available space.

“We wanted to utilize the space through elevation rather than put up just three covered courts, which was the original plan,” he said.

SHIRMAR Felongco struck a game-tying header in the 84th minute as the UST Golden Booters salvaged a draw, 1-1, against National University (NU) in the UAAP men’s football tournament at the Far Eastern University-Diliman field last Nov. 26.

The UST squad had multiple chances to take the win in the last 10 minutes of the match, including stoppage time. One such opportunity was Patrick O’Neill’s header that hit the crossbar.

Despite NU’s goalkeeper failure to secure the ball, UST wasn’t able to capitalize on another chance at goal.

The Golden Booters had to scramble for the ball toward the end as they conceded a goal to NU via Paolo Salenga’s penalty kick in the 62nd minute.

IN A GENUINE act of brotherhood between Dominican schools, the UST Growling Tigers and Colegio de San Juan de Letran Knights played in a charity game for the benefit of the victims of typhoon Yolanda at the Blessed Antonio Varona Gym on the Letran campus last Nov. 20.

The Knights survived UST in a thriller, 80-79, via Kevin Buenaflor’s buzzer-beating putback.

Letran controlled most of the game leading by as much as 19 points, 58-39, as guard Mark Cruz waxed hot from long range late in the third quarter.

But the Tigers went on a furious run in the fourth period, capped by a Kevin Ferrer slam, to cut the deficit to two, 67-69.

WHO SAID sports and academics can’t mix?

Lady Spikers Maria Loren Josephine Lantin, a freshman student of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, and Jessy Laine De Leon, a third year Dean’s lister from the College of Architecture, have proven that student-athletes could actually excel in both fields.

If there were a secret to juggling undergraduate studies, sports and eventually pursuing her childhood dream of becoming a doctor, for Lantin, it’s time management.

“I really wanted to become a doctor when I was younger while at the same time, I love playing volleyball. So I asked myself, why not do them both?” the BS Biology graduate said.

THIS rookie played like a true veteran.

Franz Marquez, a freshman student from the Institute of Physical Education and Athletics (IPEA), almost singlehandedly carried the Male Tigersharks to another fourth-place finish in the UAAP swimming tournament at the Trace College Aquatic Center in Los Baños, Laguna last Sept. 19 to 22.

The 18-year-old tanker collected one gold (100-m breastroke), four silvers (200-m individual medley, 200-m breaststroke, 400-m freestyle and 400-m individual medley) and a bronze medal (200-m butterfly), contributing heavily to the team’s 175-point output in the four-day competition. The men’s team ended up with one gold, five silvers and two bronze medals.

THE UST Golden Sox demolished Bulacan State University (BulSU), 15-2, in the Philippine Sports Commission Chairman’s Baseball Classic tournament at the Rizal Memorial Stadium last Nov. 23.

The España-based sluggers employed excellent defense and pitching to outscore BulSU and deny them of a chance to score in most of the innings.

The UST squad shook off a jittery 1-1 start in the first inning and went on a roll in the second, 5-1.

Ahead by four points, the Golden Sox fought complacency and denied the Malolos-based sluggers of a point on top of the third inning.

Bernardo Siaotong extended UST’s lead to five via a left field hit that scored a run batted in (RBI) at the bottom of the third frame.

THE UST Lady Booters maintained composure until the final whistle as they blanked De La Salle University, 1-0, in the UAAP women’s football tournament at the Far Eastern University-Diliman field last Nov. 27.

Capitalizing on a clearing error by a La Salle defender, UST striker Marice Magdolot deflected the ball and sent it straight to the goal in the 68th minute.

“We’ve had lots of chances [to score] so it’s good that she finally converted,” said JR Judal, an Asian Studies alumnus who took over coaching duties from Bon Estrabon in August.

La Salle kept trying, challenging the Lady Booters’ defense with a goal attempt in stoppage time.