Tag: November 10, 2012

THE UST Judokas did not just walk away with glory but also with a new record in the UAAP judo history.

UST became the first team to emerge as champions in all three divisions of the judo competitions, which was held at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium last Sept. 29-30.

The steel-nerved Lady Judokas clinched their third consecutive title after amassing 53 points to go with 3-3-4 gold-silver-bronze medal haul, 20 points ahead of 12-time titlists University of the Philippines (UP), which ranked second with 33 markers.

Season 75 MVP Jewel de Castro, national team mainstay Annie Ramirez, and Dianne Villalobos piloted the female squad by pocketing gold in the -70, -57, and -78 kilogram categories, respectively.

THE TIGER Paddlers, who hired a new tactician a few months before the season, claimed their third consecutive UAAP table tennis championship at the expense of De La Salle University, 3-0, at the Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym last Oct. 4.

UST now has the most number of titles in UAAP history with 25.

Season MVP Martin Diaz gave UST a comfortable 2-0 cushion after shutting down La Salle’s Kenneth Yu, 11-4, 11-7, 11-5.

Diaz unleashed back-to-back kills in the third frame to distance himself from the La Salle paddler, only to find himself three markers away, 8-5, after committing a series of unforced errors. But Diaz wrapped things up with three straight backhand slices to seal the win, 11-5.

WITH 21 seconds left, UST team captain Jeric Fortuna banked a three-pointer to give the Growling Tigers a ray of hope. He took his chances in the next possession, but missed another three that would have tied the game.

And so the Ateneo Blue Eagles went on to win a historic five straight championship, sweeping the Tigers in three games at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Oct. 11.

But there was glory in defeat for the 5’7” Fortuna, who was playing his final year with the tigers. The smallest Tiger on the floor played with the biggest heart for UST.

IN SPITE of a great run this season, the UST Growling Tigers came up short in their hunt for championship No. 19.

The Tigers failed in their bid to repeat their historic 2006 title run, yielding to the Ateneo Blue Eages in Game 2 of their best-of-three finals series, 62-65.

Here are some thoughts from the UST community on the Tigers’ gritty campaign.

“Right from the start, ‘yung team nila malakas. ‘Yun nga lang, they lack championship experience. Hopefully, ‘yung growing pains of not making it, ‘yung growing pains of almost having it but not quite will make them better.”
-Japs Cuan, point guard of 2006 championship team