Tag: No. 12

THE UST Spikers fell short of an off-season title and settled for identical runners-up finishes in the second Eagle Ridge Volleyball Championship held at the Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club in General Trias, Cavite from March 10 to 11.

The Lady Spikers succumbed to this year’s UAAP champion De La Salle University, 17-25, 23-25, 20-25, while their male counterparts bowed down to the National University (NU) Bulldogs, 22-25, 19-25, 22-25, in the championship round.

The España-based volleybelles scraped past the Far Eastern University (FEU) in the elimination round, 26-28, 25-20, 25-23, to secure the second spot. They also toppled the University of the East (UE), 26-24, 25-20, but lost to a veteran La Salle squad, 25-15, 25-23.

THE UST billiards team finished third after dropping in its semifinals game against Adamson University, 1-2, in the second season of the National Collegiate Billiards League (B-League) at the Star Billiards Center in Quezon City last March 11.

“This is a major upset for us because we know we could win. Next year, I think we should go to the location on time for our warm-up,” Engineering sophomore and team captain Aaron Cedric Gonzales said.

Second-placer Adamson played with more vigor following a hapless performance last Jan. 22 where the Tigers swept the squad, 3-0. UST finished with a 40-11 win-loss card after 12 rounds of elimination.

TANAUAN, Batangas–The UST Lady Spikers dominated the 15th Nestea beach volleyball tournament (Metro Manila division) at the First Asia Institute of Technology and Humanities (Faith) sand courts from Mar. 25 to 27.

But the Tiger Spikers failed to duplicate the feat as they fell victim against two-time National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) beach volleyball champions Arellano University.

The UST duo of Maruja Banaticla and Judy Caballejo toppled the young De La Salle University tandem of Kim Fajardo and Wensh Tiu, 21-17, 21-18, to gain their first Metro Manila leg title.

Teamwork was the main recipe but individual efforts of Thomasian athletes helped ensure yet another general UAAP championship for UST.

For Aaron Morales, team captain of the table tennis squad, winning the MVP award was just a bonus. The goal was for the Tiger Paddlers to defend the title and they did, thanks to Morales, who missed the previous season.

Tiger Spiker Jayson Ramos capped his collegiate career with four titles in five years on top of Rookie of the Year and MVP awards. The MVP plum was even more meaningful given the scathing criticisms on his supposedly poor playing condition.

ALL HE wanted was the scholarship.

But John Paul Torres, the Season 73 MVP, has emerged as one of the cover stories of the Tiger Spikers’ unparalleled four-year reign.

“It was so unexpected. My decision to try out for the team [Tiger Spikers] was primarily because someone told me of the scholarship grant given to athletes when you got in,” the 21-year-old Torres said.

Volleyball was admittedly not a priority for this ace spiker who was once a lawn tennis varsity player at the E. Rodriguez High School for a year.

But fate had a different plan for him as he went on to become one of coach Emil Lontoc’s formidable wards.

THOMASIAN athletes punctuated the season with a collection of individual awards on top of UST’s general championship in the UAAP.

Taekwondo’s Camille Manalo was named the overall Athlete of the Year during closing ceremonies at the Big Dome last March 12. She duplicated the feat by fellow Tiger Jin Marlon Avenido who won the award last year.

Having completed her final playing year, Manalo was also named Most Valuable Player (MVP) in women’s taekwondo after leading the Tigresses to their ninth title this season.

“I’m so proud and amazed that I was able to get the prestigious award. We persevered to get the (championship) title,” she said in Filipino.

IN THE end, loyalty was most important to this high school basketball superstar.

UAAP juniors MVP Kevin Ferrer has opted to stay with UST, ending months of speculation that he might play for another university in the seniors division.

Ferrer rejected juicy offers from defending champion Ateneo de Manila University and the Henry Sy-owned National University, saying “I want to be faithful and play for UST.”

“This is where I got recognized,” he said, adding that he was moved by his parents and supporters who urged him to stay with his alma mater, a basketball powerhouse especially in the 90s.

PAYING tribute to its alma mater’s quadricentennial, the Salinggawi Dance Troupe took center stage for its 43rd annual dance concert titled “Eterno: The Legacy Continues” at the Medicine Auditorium last March 11.

“The annual concert was mainly dedicated to UST’s 400th year anniversary and not really for us,” said Jerome San Jose, Salinggawi’s external public relations officer.

In Eterno, a Spanish word for eternity, the group exhibited popular dances in history dating back from the pre-Spanish period.

UST SWIMMERS flooded the medal board in the Ateneo Sprint Challenge with a 10-5-3 gold-silver-bronze haul during the competition held last March 13.

The Male Tigersharks dominated the pool with 204 points, which made up for their female counterparts’ lowly output of 94 points. Their combined 298 points placed the España-based tankers in third spot.

“It was a ‘fun meet’ with other schools that is why they opted to merge the points for both teams,” assistant coach Agustus Alcantara said in Filipino.

Host team Ateneo ruled the event with 358 points while Season 73 champion University of the Philippines placed second with 350 markers. De La Salle was fourth with 250 points.

THE TIGERS-LED Max Bond Super Glue Sumos rebounded from opening game jitters, blasting out the winless Café France squad, 83-62, for their first win in the Philippine Basketball Association Developmental League (PBA D-League) Foundation Cup at the Adamson University Gym last March 29.

The Sumos took an early 11-point lead, 17-6, as they banked on the scoring of Roel Hugnatan, an Asean Basketball League veteran.

They were clearly responding to the challenge of new coach Pido Jarencio, who admitted allowing the Sumos to have their way in the previous game.

“In the last game, I gave them the chance to follow what they wanted to happen,” Jarencio said. “Then I told them that this time, they had to listen to what I wanted [them] to do.”