Tag: Vol. LXXXIII

THE UST Tiger Cubs clinched their second victory at the expense of a gritty University of the Philippines Junior Maroons, 67-61, at the Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym last July 30.

Big man Paolo Florentin outmuscled undersized Jozhua General in a low-post basket, 59-48, in the last quarter to prove that taller guys lord the shaded area.

An aggressive Florentin stood up to carry the black-and-gold army to the win, tallying a career-high 15 points and nine boards.

The Cubs surprised the Junior Maroons with a full-court pressure to whip up a couple of steals and post an early 10-point lead, 14-4. But their leech-like defense led to five fouls and gave the Diliman-based dribblers several open shots in the last five minutes of the first canto, 14-12.

TWO THOMASIAN Jins missed a chance to compete in the London Olympics next year, after bowing down to separate opponents in the 2011 Olympic World Qualification Tournament held in Baku, Azerbaijan from June 25 to July 4.

UAAP Season 72 Athlete of the Year Marlon Avenido and Lady Jin Jade Zafra could still book a ticket to the world’s biggest sporting event by winning in the Asian Qualifiers slated this November.

The lanky Zafra slipped past Afghan opponent Humaira Mohammadi, 4-3, in the first round of the under-57 kilogram category, but yielded to El Salvador’s Laura Vasquez, 4-9.

THE UST Tigresses remained undefeated in three games after surviving the Far Eastern University (FEU), 66-65, in their UAAP match-up at the Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City last July 24.

Mary Galicia won the game for UST after splitting her free throws on an unsportsmanlike foul, with a second left in the fourth quarter. The Tigresses earlier went ahead, 65-64, after Paula Bombeo scored on a drive with 2:35 minutes left in the game clock.

The Lady Tamaraws forced the fifth deadlock of the game via split charities by Marilourd Borja. They had a chance to take the lead following an offensive rebound, but UST stole the ball, forcing Borja to foul Galicia.

THE UST Golden Sox have recruited a top rookie, who is a veteran of major international tournaments.

At 15, Christian Mercado was a member of the RP Youth 15-16 team, which claimed the top spot in the Asia Pacific Baseball Tournament after defeating Indonesia at the Rizal Memorial Stadium last July 3.

The RP team defeated Indonesia via mercy rule, 10-0, to book a ticket in the World Little League Series in Maine, USA on August 14 to 21.

Although the national team bowed to Guam, 3-4, it was awarded a win-over-the-other and quotient-system advantage after Indonesia defeated Guam. Thus, the Philippines remained in contention in the single-round robin competition.

THE GOLDEN Booters stumbled against the University of the East, 0-1, in the Ang Liga Football Cup at the San Beda football field last July 23.

Tho Booters had several opportunities to score, only to be denied by UE’s tough defense. John Llaguno scored the lone goal of the game. UST now has a 0-1-1 win-loss-draw card.

Assistant coach Kim Versales blamed the loss on the players’ lack of sufficient preparation.

“The players have the skills, but still they lack blending and communication,” he said. “The bad weather also caused a lot of adjustments for the team, especially on how they pass and kick the ball.”

UST came close to an equalizer in the second half, but Fidel Kue’s attempt bounced off the upper post.

MOMMY Tiger has left the lair.

Felicitas Francisco, one of UST’s longest-serving employees, was honored in a dinner held at the SyCip-Velayo Multi-purpose Hall at the AMV-College of Accountancy last June 22.

Francisco was responsible for the varsity team’s transition from the “Glowing Goldies” to the “Growling Tigers” in 1992, earning her the moniker “Mommy Tiger.”

Besides her contributions in collegiate sports, she was also known in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines for wearing tiger-printed clothes and bags in the league’s events.

VARSITY teams have lost at least six key athletes due to academic deficiencies even before UST could formally begin its quest for another general championship in UAAP Season 74.

Sweet-shooting Clark Bautista will not suit up for the Growling Tigers after failing subjects in his Communication Arts major. Badminton standout Peter Magnaye, the Season 73 Most Valuable Player suffered a similar fate and opted to concentrate instead on the national team.

Swimmers Michael Godoy and Fritz Agapay will no longer be playing for UST owing to academic problems at the College of Commerce and Business Administration and Institute of Physical Education and Athletics (IPEA), respectively.

WINNING the UAAP overall crown has been quite a ‘habit’ for UST. But with other schools beefing up their lineups in the offseason, Tiger athletes cannot succumb to complacency or overconfidence. Whether they could lord it over the collegiate wars again this year will depend on the strength and character of individual teams.

Here’s the Varsitarian’s fearless forecast:

BADMINTON

Male Shuttlers
Last year: Champion
Prediction: Fifth place

The Male Shuttlers’ goal of a third straight title faces a hurdle after last season’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) Ariel Magnaye feathered out due to debarment.

Coach Noli Cajefe said Magnaye’s absence would apparently trigger some serious adjustments in both singles and doubles match-ups.

However, the España-based smashers are still hoping to gain a Final Four berth with help from veterans RJ Ormilla, Salvador Kapunan, and Renz Vivas.

This season, Cajefe said the squad will parade a new gameplan: the development of doubles match-up in order to fill the single match-ups’ deficiencies.

THE SEARCH for the next UST courtside reporter has led to a model-turned-beauty queen.

Meet Ma. Kristina Marasigan, 23, a Psychology graduate and a finalist in the prestigious Ford Supermodel of the World competition in 2009 and Bb. Pilipinas in 2011.

Marasigan, who works at DZMM Teleradyo, will replace Patricia Cansana in bringing news straight from the Growling Tigers’ bench and dugout.

“The pressure is high,” said Marasigan, who earned her degree two years ago. “But I’m looking at the pressure as a challenge to be good and I’m really glad that they gave me this responsibility and opportunity.”

ONE MORE signature and Cameroonian Karim Abdul is good to go for the Growling Tigers.

The 19-year-old Abdul only needs to have his birth certificate authenticated in Cameroon so the UAAP board could give its go-signal for his much-anticipated court debut.

Coach Pido Jarencio said Abdul’s mother would seek the validation in Nigeria because it is the country nearest to Cameroon with a Philippine embassy.

“Once it is done and got sealed, and the papers got sealed, they will be presented to the UAAP board,” he said.

“It will be a big problem if Abdul will not play for us this season, he is our man in the middle and I waited two years for him,” he said.