Tag: October 5, 2006

“CELLAR-dwellers,” “unpredictable,” “toothless Tigers.”

These were the words used to describe the UST Growling Tigers at the start of Season 69 of the UAAP basketball wars.

But last Oct. 2, the Tigers were christened different names: brave-hearts, never-say-die heroes, and finally, champions.

In a tough season in which they were initially dismissed as perennial non-contenders, the Tigers became champions at the expense of the league’s top-billed squad.

BY A WHISKER and a mile, the UST judo teams underscored redemption on separate mats of fortune to remain an indomitable force in UAAP Judo. Tenaciously engaging archrival University of the Philippines (UP) in another head-on collision on the battle decks, the determined charges of coach Jojo Arce played a reversal of roles atop the medal podium, regaining the overall plum in the men’s division while carving a bridesmaids’ finish on the women’s side at the Blue Eagle Gym last Oct. 1

THE UST Beach Volleyball teams remain in the hunt for a winning formula in the inaugural edition of the UAAP Beach Volleyball Competition at the University of the East-Caloocan Campus.

Lady Spikers assistant coach Cesael delos Santos told the Varsitarian that his wards are still recovering with their 3-2 win-loss record. The team, known to be a perennial contender in the UAAP volleyball, lost their spunk against the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Spikers in a 21-15, 17-21, 9-15 loss last Sept. 24.

THE MOST MALIGNED coach—and deservedly so if we go by the way he handled preseason interviews—faced his side of the coliseum, arms raised in V, thumbs up and flashed a smile that in no way contrasted the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes.

If someone had frozen the television coverage at that particular frame, he would have stared into a man choking up on a smorgasbord of emotions that he could not pick a particular one to wear on his Tiger-motif sleeve.

Alfredo “Pido” Jarencio should have laughed.

FIGHTING under the glare of their respected mentor’s all-victory prediction in the off-season, the UST Jins hit pay dirt on the mat once more to annex their fifth and fourth consecutive titles in the UAAP Season 69 Teakwondo Championship last Sept. 16 at the UST Gym.

True to coach Dindo Simpao’s prediction that all three UST teams will sweep the championship, the España-based jins braved all the odds, including an opening-game upset that nearly derailed the Tiger Jins’ drive for five.

WHEN the Growling Tigers started Season 69 of the UAAP basketball, they were greeted with doubt and derision. Many of those who dismissed them were the doubting Thomases of UST.

But when they beat the Ateneo Blue Eagles to clinch UAAP Men’s basketball championship last Oct. 2, they did more than just silence their critics. They proved to everyone who doubted them that they have it takes to be a winning team.

TYPHOON “Milenyo” has left a striking lesson to local governments relentlessly issuing and renewing licenses to advertisers who display their ads on huge billboards.

Last Sept. 28, a driver was crushed by a billboard steel frame around 12 m. high and 30 m. wide on top of a building near Estrella Street at Edsa. The driver was instantly killed while eight others were injured.

SENATOR Franklin Drilon revealed two weeks ago that the government has accumulated over P 17 billion worth of unliquidated cash advances over the last three years.

Quoting a Commission on Audit report, Drilon said that as of Dec. 31, 2005, unliquidated cash advances of the national government amounted to P9.37 billion, while government-owned and -controlled corporations and local government units registered P66 billion and P5 billion worth of unliquidated accounts, respectively.