Tag: No. 12

IS THE subpar performance of the UST Lady Spikers this season a temporary setback or a lasting downfall?

The UAAP Season 75 women’s volleyball tournament marked the third straight championship for De La Salle University (DLSU). But it would also be remembered as the year when UST failed to barge into the Final Four for the first time in 10 years.

Even coach Odjie Mamon gave the team a score of five in a scale of 1 to 10 for their dismal performance. The España-based volleybelles finished fifth with a dismal 8-6 win-loss tally.

“The team was well-prepared but their full potential was not met,” Mamon said. “Those whom we expected to perform did not do well.”

THE FACULTY of Engineering bagged its second title in the Thomasian Goodwill Games men’s football tournament after trouncing the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, 2-0, at the UST Football field last Feb. 28.

With a minute left at the second half, Engineering rookie Viance Villanueva delivered a sharp long kick from the left flank as his squad scored its second goal and picked up its second title since 2010.

“All our players really played well in all our games, even though the players tended to be inconsistent sometimes. They see to it that they could back up everytime they fall down,” Engineering coach John Reginald Caballero said.

HARD work does not always pay off, at least not immediately.

Robert Hainga has experienced life’s worsts, both on his everyday endeavors and in the basketball court. It was not as if he was not working hard; it’s just that he wasn’t getting the breaks.

As a sixth-grader, the 6-foot-7 center used to help his parents sell fruits, vegetables, and other sources of income in his hometown in Negros Occidental. He considers one of the most challenging experiences growing up in a family of six, him being the youngest.

“Since grade six, nag-start na ‘kong magbenta ng mga kung anu-ano sa palengke. ‘Di lang gulay, lahat sa palengke nabenta ko na ro’n sa probinsya,” the 22-year-old Hainga said.

THE UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe (SDT) failed anew to enter the top three in the third UAAP Streetdance Competition held at the Skydome last March 23.

UP Street Dance Club dethroned two-time champions La Salle Dance Company-Street, which settled for a runner-up finish, while Adamson University CAST placed third.

“We really came up short this year because we allotted only three weeks of practice for this event,” said SDT coach Joe Abuda.

“I believe that the Salinggawi is a great dance group. The talent and passion is there and the whole Thomasian community is very supportive to us,” he added.

The competition was judged based on performance (60%) and skills (40%) set by the UAAP Streetdance Board of Committee.

THE NEW UAAP rule extending to two years the residency of student-athletes transferring to another UAAP member school drew cheers and jeers from students, sports officials, and athletes.

Also known as the “Jerie Pingoy rule,” it aims to discourage “piracy” among UAAP member schools, drawing support from Adamson University, De La Salle University, Far Eastern University, University of the East, and University of Santo Tomas.

Here are some thoughts from the Thomasian community:

LOCAL print and broadcast media agencies received Quadricentennial Service Awards last March 28 for being “part of God’s unending grace to the University.”

Office for Public Affairs Director Giovanna Fontanilla said the ‘Q’ Service Awards were given to media outfits for documenting and disseminating information on Quadricentennial events, which have made a “significant and positive impact for UST’s 400th year celebration.”

Recipients of the award included newspapers Manila Bulletin, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, Manila Times, Business Mirror, BusinessWorld, People’s Journal, Manila Standard Today, and Malaya, and local magazines Women’s Journal, Balikbayan, Town and Country, Enrich, Lifestyle Asia, Travel Time, and Mabuhay.

THOMASIAN athletes went home with individual awards to cap UST 14th straight UAAP general championship.

Tiger Jin Joaquin Mendoza was named Athlete of the Year in the juniors division as the UAAP officially came to a close during ceremonies held at the Philippine International Convention Center last March 10.

After emerging as the top rookie last season, Mendoza bagged the Most Valuable Player (MVP) plum together with teammate Aaron Agojo, as they led UST to its ninth overall junior’s taekwondo championship.

Tigershark Miguel Carandang was named “Athlete Scholar”-a recognition given to student-athletes who also excel in academics—alongside Bobby Ray Parks Jr. of National University’s men’s basketball, and five other players.

The UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe (SDT) settled for a miserable seventh-place finish in the second UAAP Streetdance Competition held at the Philippine International Convention Center Forum last March 10.

The group was good only for an overall score of 71.5 percent—only 0.5 points higher than cellar-dweller University of the East Street Warriors.

“We lacked preparation in our routine. We had a lot of activities inside and outside the University so we only had two weeks to prepare,” Salinggawi president Adams Bernabe said.

THE UST-led Blackwater Sports clobbered Erase Plantcenta, 91-63, to snatch its second victory in the Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League Foundation Cup at the San Juan Gym last March 29.

Blackwater is now tied with Big Chill Superchargers at third place (2-1), half-a-game behind defending champions NLEX Road Warriors (3-0).

Blackwater coach Leo Isaac said that the victory was a wake-up call for his wards who slacked off at the waning minutes of their previous game against the Junior Powerade Tigers.

“It is not enough to win the game. [There must be hard work] because it gives us a lot of discipline,” Isaac said.

UST keeps winning, but the gap is narrowing.

Winning the prestigious league’s overall championship plum has been quite a habit for UST, but as seasons count, the lead is slashed bit by bit as other competing universities start to fuel their firepower.

The University won its 14th-straight title, the 39th in its collection, but did so just 20 points ahead of De La Salle University.

Gilda Kamus, faculty secretary of the Institute of Physical Education and Athletics, admitted having jitters when UST was yet to secure the crown with La Salle close by. She credited the eventual victory to what she called “unending grace,” given the problems the athletes had gone through throughout the season.