Tag: September 16, 2009

AN EXCRUCIATING LRT ride is the next immediate challenge for Thomasians whenever the Tigers lose a hard-fought UAAP match at the Big Dome.

But sharing the same train with the De la Salle University fans might be the greatest post-game torture.

That was the situation I tried to escape by postponing my train ride back from a lost game with the Archers last September 3. It took an ocean of courage to have that “there’s nothing to be ashamed of” kind of look but I had to. It was like a Thomasian standing at the navel of a sea of green, singing the UST hymn with pride and conviction despite a cardiac loss.

The Tigers were not even considered as one of the pre-season favorites and going this far has literally been a miracle. Come to think of it, UST has 50 percent of its lineup this year filled with rookies, and they are not as experienced as other teams like Ateneo and FEU.

INDEED, the UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe made history again but now in the opposite direction.

For the first time since the UAAP cheerdance competition was established in 1994, the squad exited out of the top three, and only placed fourth with a total score of 81 percent last September 13 at the Araneta Coliseum.

Besting Salinggawi was the Sarimanok-themed Far Eastern University Cheering Squad (86.1 percent) as this season’s champions, along with the Ateneo de Manila Blue Babble Batallion (83.4), and defending champion University of the Philippines Pep Squad (83.1) in second and third place, respectively.

SEASON 72’s best cager is a Tiger.

UST main man Dylan Ababou was named this year’s MVP last Monday, ahead of the Tigers’ Final Four match-up against the top-seeded Ateneo Blue Eagles.

Ababou normed a league-leading 18.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game, besting last season’s MVP Rabeh Al-Hussaini of Ateneo and Aldrech Ramos of the Far Eastern University.

“This is a dream-come-true for me,” Ababou said.

His MVP run was all but threatened by a “punching” incident with De La Salle cager Jovet Mendoza halfway in the first elimination round. UAAP commissioner Joe Lipa recommended his suspension for unsportsmanlike foul.

“[My detractors] are singling me out very much,” Ababou said. “There are a lot of players who are doing what I did and besides, I did not receive a call (of ejection) from the referee.”

HEAVY rains and strong winds were not enough to douse the UST Tiger Spikers’ fire, en route to rewriting another tournament sweep in the ongoing UAAP Season 72 Beach Volleyball sand wars.

The perennial duo of Henry Pecaña and Jayson Ramos started crossing out rival schools in their title defense, with University of the East (UE) as their latest victim. Pecaña and Ramos dealt their UE opponents a 21-10, 21-8 whitewashing last Sept. 13 at the UE- Caloocan sand courts.

“We are hoping to have another sweep,” Tiger Spiker head coach Emil Lontoc said. “The toughest team we will be facing is FEU (Far Eastern University) because they are beach volleyball veterans already.”

Lontoc said that Ramos and Pecaña’s high ceiling and service skills will be their most trusted allies as they face their last two opponents in the elimination round - Ateneo de Manila University and Far Eastern University (FEU).

Call it fate—or luck—but the Tigers did practically nothing to merit a spot in the Final Four.

But they made it anyway—the slot all but served on a silver platter—courtesy of the NU Bulldogs’ huge win over the luckless De La Salle Green Archers last Aug. 9 at a packed Araneta Coliseum.

With the upset, the Tigers saw no reason to win over the UE Warriors in the second game, except, of course, to enter the semifinals on a winning note.

But even that was not enough to motivate the Tigers who bowed to the mighty Warriors, 67-77.

“We were really prepared to beat UE at all cost [should DLSU win],” an inexplicably confident Coach Pido Jarencio said.“But the (Final Four) slot was given to us early so the players relaxed and I let the younger ones play on the court.”

RP CAGER Kyle Neypes has shown why he could be the second coming of Dennis Rodman.

Erupting for 12 points, 23 rebounds and three blocks, Neypes lifted the UST Tiger Cubs past the top-seeded De La Salle Zobel Junior Archers for their sixth straight win, 65-60, last Sept. 12 at the San Juan Arena.

The victory gave UST a twice-to-beat advantage in the Final Four.

“We had greater desire to win this game against La Salle, with the twice-to beat advantage at stake,” coach Allan Ascue said. “Our endgame collapse showed the immaturity of the players since we have plenty of rookies but the good thing is that eventually, they were able to cope.”

UST finished the elimination round with an 11-3 win-loss record, behind the Junior Archers’ 12-2.

Neypes drilled a jumper in the painted area with only 23.6 seconds remaining in the game to stop a 12-0 blistering run by La Salle and give UST some breathing ground, 63-58.

AS VARSITY players troop to the hard court, half of the battle is won in the stands, one that’s determined by the loudest, most colorful cheer.

The UST Yellow Jackets (YJ) know what’s at stake each time they settle in the gallery and bang those drums.

They need to keep the adrenalin pumping and the UST crowd cheering.

And this is exactly what they have been doing since the group was formed in the early 1990s.

Since then, Thomasian cheering—with its signature “Go USTe”—was never the same again.

“We need to give pride and audacity for UST. As they say, YJ is the symbol of the Thomasian spirit so we want to live up to that goal,” YJ president Jefferson Gorriceta said.