UST successfully retains UAAP poomsae crown

c/o UAAP

The University of Santo Tomas banked on its strong showings in the team events and mixed pair to annex a second consecutive title in the UAAP Season 87 Poomsae Championships on Thursday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

Reasserting their status as the most successful program, the Tiger Jins won three golds, one more than their haul last season for a record sixth crown.

"I don’t want to say that it’s difficult but it’s a good kind of challenge because of every is getting better every year. The intensity and skill gets higher and higher," said UST head coach Rani Ortega.

"And it’s a healthy competition because everyone here knows each other. Some of them are even teammates in the national team. Us coaches, we are really close. This competition shows the beauty and grace of poomsae and how we can transform it into something nice for the audience."

NU opened the competition by winning the individual golds courtesy of Antonette Medallada (women) and Ian Corton (men).

UST then later turned the tide when the mixed pair of Paul Rodriguez and Chelsea Tacay won, and swept the team golds courtesy of Tacay, Maria Nicole Labayne, and Stella Nicole Yape (women) and Rodriguez, King Nash Alcario, and Dane Subaste (men).

Even with the departure of Vincent Rodriguez, who paired with Tacay in last season's successful mixed pair bid, Aidaine Laxa and Kobe Macario, the Tiger Jins remain the gold standard in poomsae.

Tacay and Rodriguez logged 8.910 points to beat the Bulldogs' Ceanne Rosquillo and Season 85 MVP Laeia Soria (8.770). UP's Joshua Cachero and Alyssa Caabay complete the podium finishers in mixed pair with 8.720.

Tacay, Labayne, and Yape recorded 8.950 points, besting NU's Soria, Sophia Estelloso and Antonette Medallada (8.680), and De La Salle's Sofia Sarmiento, Khia Mae Cortez and Sofia Ignacio (8.670) for UST's second gold.

Tacay, who was named the Most Valuable Player for the second straight season shared, "Same pa din yung mga training namin from last year but the eagerness this year to get the championship again… We focused more on the mental because may pressure because we haven’t gotten the back-to-back for UST.

"Mas na-hone yung leadership ko from the last year. This year as a senior and as a captain, mas nag-focus ako kung paano ko aangat yung team ko," added the 23-year-old native of Baguio City.

With the gold medal count knotted at 2-all, Ortega made sure to remind her Tigers to enjoy the moment.

"I told everyone in the finals to reset, start again. Think that you are not doing this for yourself, you are doing for UST. It’s for a higher calling so that they won’t feel alone on the mat and that everybody is here for them," Ortega shared.

"I’m happy with how they performed and I’m so proud of them."

The Tiger Jins then clinched the title with a scintillating performance from the trio of Alcario, Rodriguez and Subaste, who logged 9.210 to fend off the Bulldogs' Corton, Rosquillo, and Juan Marco Medallada (9.030) and the Green Jins' Nathanael Managbanag, Carl Villorda and Jesseyrey Frantilla (8.780).

With 8.970 points, Antonette Medallada emerged triumphant over UST's Labayne (8.870) and De La Salle's Sarmiento (8.660), and NU completed a sweep of individual golds after Corton turned in 9.030 points to prevail over UST's Alcario (8.830) and De La Salle's Managbanag (8.740).

It was a big improvement for the Bulldogs, the Season 85 winners who placed third with a 1-1-3 tally last year.

The Green Jins, who lost Patrick Perez to graduation, bagged four bronzes to reach the podium for the second straight year.

UST's Rodriguez was adjudged the Rookie of the Year.

The Fighting Maroons placed fourth.

Ateneo, which had a finalist in the individual women event, and Far Eastern University, round out the six-team field.

NU claims Season 85 poomsae title

c/o UAAP

National University secured its first title in the Poomsae portion of the UAAP Season 85 Taekwondo tournament, which took place on Tuesday morning at the Blue Eagle Gym.

The Bulldogs won two golds and two silvers in the five events being contested, pipping the University of Santo Tomas, who also won a couple of golds, but could only muster a silver and a bronze.

NU sealed their maiden title in the men's team event, with the trio of Ceanne Rosquillo, James Lopez, and Jed Tan netting an 8.265 score, narrowly netting the gold over the trio of Dominic Navarro, Joshua Cachero, and Datu Rayhan of the University of the Philippines and their 8.235 score, for the lone medal of the Fighting Maroons in the competition.

A UP gold would have handed UST a successful title defense, with Vincent Rodrigues, Kobe Macario, and Dairus Venerable falling short with a 8.165 to finish third in the division.

NU's other gold came in the women's individual category with Laeia Soria topping the field with a score of 8.250. Last season's Rookie-MVP Aidaine Laxa came in second with 8.135 for UST, with Mikee Regala of La Salle completing the podium at 7.880.

Soria would be named as the tournament's Most Valulable Player.

NU head coach Dustin Mella says about the championship, "I'm still processing it, but it's hard work basically. We had to rethink our own approach to our lineup, to the events we want to emphasize. It was a lot of hard work and there were really so many factors."

The Tiger Jins' two golds came in mixed pair and the women's team events.

Rodrigues teamed up with Chelsea Tacay to nip the duo of Patrick Perez and Regala of DLSU, 8.230 to 8.215, with Ateneo's Joaquin Tuzon and Elaine Borres finishing in third with 7.895.

Laxa, Jade Carno and Stella Yape retained their gold with a 8.350 score, with Soria, Abegail Pacificador, and Denise Alicias claiming the silver medal with an 8.215. Completing the podium is the La Salle trio of Sofia Sarmiento, Zyka Santiago, and Daphne Ching with their 8.005.

The Blue Eagles secured the only gold that did not belong to either NU or UST, as Tuzon topped the men's individual event with an 8.195 score, nipping both Rosquillo's 8.170 and Perez's 8.115. In securing the gold, Ateneo would lock in its first podium finish in the history of the competition.

Still ongoing is the high school kyorugi competition, with the collegiate action set to take place in the next couple of days.

UST shooting for Poomsae repeat

Taekwondo coaches meeting

Taekwondo action in the 85th season of the UAAP is set to commence, with poomsae kicking things off on Tuesday at the Blue Eagle Gym.

The University of Santo Tomas is seeking their fifth title in the competition, months after ending La Salle's quest for a three-peat at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Tiger Jins anchored their title run by topping the team categories, as well as in the mixed pair. They were also boosted by the presence of Aidaine Laxa, who was named as both the Rookie of the Year and the Most Valuable Player.

The Green Jins are hoping to move back level with the defending champions after finishing third, with National University nabbing runner-up honors. The two will serve as the biggest obstacles for UST's title defense.

Serving as potential spoilers in the competition are the University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila, and Far Eastern University.

Also set to take place alongside the poomsae event is the high school kyorugi, which makes its return after a three-year pandemic-related break.

UST is seeking to claim a record fourteenth crown in the division, with FEU-Diliman, NU-Nazareth, Ateneo de Manila, and La Salle-Zobel serving as stumbling blocks.

Action in both poomsae and kyorugi starts at 8am.

Kyorugi action for both collegiate divisions will take place on Wednesday and Thursday.