UST kept its hold of the top spot in the UAAP Season 81 general championship race at the end of the first semester.
UST collected seven gold, four silver and two bronze medals for 212 points, higher than Season 80’s 153 markers.
University of the Philippines came in at second place with 188 points, while rival De La Salle University slipped to third with 178.
“The teams this first semester really did a good performance kaya malaki ang lamang ng UST. Although, mababa ang place sa ibang sports, thankful pa rin kami dahil malakas ‘yong hatak ng karamihan,” Institute of Physical Education and Athletics (IPEA) athletics moderator Rodrigo Sambuang told the Varsitarian.
The Lady Spikers made history after bagging their third-straight UAAP beach volleyball crown at the expense of La Salle. The Tiger Spikers reclaimed the title they lost last year after sweeping the Far Eastern University (FEU).
The Lady Paddlers finally ended an 11-year title drought in the women’s table tennis after beating La Salle, while the Tiger Paddlers dethroned the National University (NU) in the men’s division.
Recently, the Tiger Judokas dominated the judo tournament anew after scoring another golden double.
The Female Tracksters continued their athletics reign after securing their fifth-consecutive crown. The struggling Male Tracksters, meanwhile, missed the podium anew and sank to eighth, their worst showing in UAAP history.
La Salle unseated UST’s poomsae team which settled for silver this season. The Tiger and Lady Jins almost spoiled NU’s dominance in the taekwondo tournament but settled for twin runner-up finishes.
In fencing action, the Lady Fencers improved to second place this year from last season’s fifth-spot finish, while the Male Fencers crashed to fifth place, a far cry from their silver-finish last year.
The Growling Tigresses faltered in the women’s basketball stepladder semifinals to salvage third place anew.
The Male Tigersharks returned to the podium this season and bagged bronze, while their female counterparts dropped to fourth.
The Male and Female Woodpushers ended their campaigns at fifth place.
In badminton action, the Male and Lady Shuttlers finished with identical 1-5 win-loss records for sixth place.
The new-look Growling Tigers missed the Final Four for the third-straight year and finished at sixth place.
“Sana ma-maintain kasi ang goal naman talaga is makuha ‘yong general championship ulit. We still have remaining events next semester and I have high expectations sa mga sports na ‘yon kasi I know they will deliver medals for UST,” Sambuang said.
Back-to-back men’s basketball champion Ateneo de Manila University sits at fourth place with 155 points.
Taekwondo champion NU is at fifth spot with 131 points, after winning five-consecutive men’s badminton and women’s basketball crowns.
University of the East, FEU and Adamson University registered 125, 105 and 76 points for sixth, seventh, and eighth spot, respectively.
