Tag: Vol. LXXVIII

THE UST Mountaineering Club plucked another gem on its trail as it emerged second in the Beat-the-Terraces Banaue Orienteering Challenge (mixed category) at the Banaue Rice Terraces in Benguet last May 20-21.

Finishing the 15-point course of the rugged Banaue terrain in seven hours, the dynamic duo of Thomasians Libert Lomuntad and Elaine Lerio garnered runner-up honors against 11 teams of sesoned climbers. The University of the Philippines won the race in six hours, while the 420 Nomads Club, a group of professional mountaineers, finished third with eight hours.

THE UST Tigresses routed the University of the Philippines Lady Maroons, 51-38, in their Metroball 2nd Conference semifinals bid last June 11 in the Metro Gym at Mandaluyong City.

Carrying a 4-2 win-loss card, the Tigresses still have one game to play in the eliminations against the UP-Alumni team, but are sure to see action in the semifinals after securing the league’s third spot.

THOMASIAN Paddlers earned gold and bronze medals in the 5th Filipino-Chinese Friendship Games’ National Table Tennis Championship (Men’s 30 Under Division) last June 13 in the YMCA table courts at Binondo, Manila.

Among the participants, UST Junior Paddlers’ coach Celjun Ortalla crushed Tiger Paddlers Glenn Rodriguez and Reygea Rosales in straight setters in the qualifiers.

Ortalla also took Richard Lim of the Filipino-Chinese Table Tennis Club of North District (FCTTCND) in another straight setter for a finals seed.

DESPITE the Tigresses’ lackluster showing in Season 68, head coach Peque Tan envisions her team as a Final Four contender this year.

“We have bigger chances this season because the players have matured and mastered their moves,” Tan told the Varsitarian.

With a lineup consisting of formidable veterans and prized rookies, Tan’s wards may finally head to a podium finish after an 11-year title drought.

POISED to take their high place on the mat, the UST Lady Jins reigned supreme in the 2006 All-Womens Taekwondo Championship at the Ninoy Aquino Sports Complex last May 21.

The Lady Jins, who bagged their third straight UAAP title last January, hauled three golds, two silvers, and four bronzes to underscore their reputation as the best amateur team in the tournament.

“This is a good sign for us going into the UAAP wars,” UST Lady Jins coach Dindo Simpao said.

DEBUTING coach Pido Jarencio has one thing in mind: extinguish the flames of despair that have lingered in the Tiger’s lair for the past three years.

And with the numbers at his grasp, Jarencio has every reason to underscore the Tigers’ Final Four chances when the UAAP Season 69 cage wars start this July.

“We are more prepared and more focused this time because we have trained hard in the off-season, and we are one of the more seasoned teams in the league today,” Jarencio told the Varsitarian.

TO LEVEL the playing field in the UAAP, its board temporarily banned graduate student-athletes from playing this year.

In a phone interview with the Varsitarian, UAAP President Luz Sta. Ana argued the graduate student-athletes, loosely termed as “mercenary athletes”, may daunt younger players due to their larger and broader physique.

IN A GRUDGE match between last season’s UAAP finalists, the Tiger Spikers again tumbled to perennial rival and defending champion Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws in a thrilling 25-20, 18-25, 23-25, 25-23, 15-11 finals encounter in the Fifth Toribio Cup at the Eulogio Amang Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology gym last June 1.

The Tiger Spikers, who played second-fiddle to the Tamaraws for the past two UAAP seasons, appeared headed for a reversal when they built a commanding 21-13 lead in the first set.

IN THEIR international debut, the UST Tiger Dragons made the University and the country proud when they won the bronze medal in the Penang International Dragon Boat Festival (12-man crew, Junior category) at the Teluk Bahang Dam in Malaysia last May 26-28.

The victory came sweeter for UST because the team is not even a year old but, it still managed to register a podium finish in their first shot at global rowing.