NU retains men's title, drops women's to UST in UAAP taekwondo

c/o UAAP

UAAP Season 85 Collegiate Taekwondo Final Standings:
Men
NU 5-0
UST 4-1
DLSU 3-2
FEU 2-3
UP 1-4
Ateneo 0-5

Women
UST 5-0
NU 4-1
DLSU 3-2
UP 2-3
FEU 1-4
Ateneo 0-5

National University successfully defended their men's title at the collegiate kyorugi portion of the UAAP Season 85 taekwondo touranment, which concluded on Thursday at the Blue Eagle Gym.

The Bulldogs won all their ties against the rest of the field to earn its fourth straight championship, just a couple of days after their compatriots claimed their first title in the poomsae division. They finished off their run with a 4-3 victory over the University of Santo Tomas.

Head coach Carlos Padilla shares about their achievement, "Siyempre, sobrang saya no na na-maintain yung four-peat. Alam naman natin na hindi madali na mag-maintain na ganong streak, kailangan talaga ng hardwork. Yung training ng mga bata, hindi biro -- two to three times a day, Monday to Saturday. So, binigay sa kanila ngayon. Sobrang happy ako na nagbunga yung pinagpaguran nila."

Leading the way in the title romp was Kurt Barbosa. The Tokyo Olympian finished the season undefeated after dispatching fellow national team member Rommel Pablo Jr in the finweight (under-54 kg) division, 2-0 (12-11, 12-7). In the process, he secured his third straight gold in the weight class. Completing the podium alongside the two standouts is Radiz Navidad of Far Eastern University.

Sturjay Gilbuena would clinch the tie for NU after a 2-0 (5-5, 3-2) win over Reyvin Villanueva in the featherweight (under-68 kg) division. Joining them on the podium is Kyle Laroya of the University of the Philippines.

The Bulldogs would have an additional gold medal through Dex Ian Chavez in the flyweight (under-58 kg) division. Rama Chandra Liporada of UST and Lois Manalaysay join Chavez as fellow medalists.

The Tiger Jins would a gold medalist in their runner-up finish, thanks to Justin Mark Agno in the lightweight (under-74 kg) class. Agno would top Jemuel Rendora of FEU and Lao Nusari of NU.

Finishing in third place is DLSU, which capped off its campaign with a 6-1 thrashing of Ateneo. The Green Jins claimed the three remaining gold medals, as Einz Aricayos topped the welterweight (under-80 kg) class, with Carlo Dionisio taking care of the bantamweight (under-63 kg) division over Kurt Pajuelas of NU and Dave Lobaton of UST. The other gold went to Marc Gasilos in the middle/heavyweight division (over-80 kg), with Mark Arby of UST and Gab Soria of NU accompanying Gasilos in the podium.

Comprising the rest of the podium in welterweight is Israel Cantos of UST and Hedwig Yap of FEU.

c/o UAAP

NU's hopes to complete the collegiate sweep were dashed in the women's division, as UST reclaimed the title by sweeping the field for their thirteenth title and first since Season 76.

The Tiger Jins doused the hopes of the Lady Bulldogs with a 6-1 victory, with Realis Tabiando clinching the tie by defeating Jubilee Briones in the lightweight (under-62 kg) division, 2-0 (2-1, 3-2).

Head coach Gershon Bautista shares, "We're overjoyed, especially after the pandemic. As you know, lahat naman ng teams naghanda, Pero yung team kasi namin -- even during the pandemic --kahit na online yung setting, kahit hindi namin gusto yung online, we're still training during that time."

NU's lone win came from Veronica Garces in the flyweight (under-49 kg) division, as the national team stalwart defeated Angelica Valdez, 2-0 (3-3, 5-3), capping off an undefeated campaign. Completing the podium with these two is Jade Papa of DLSU.

Papa and the rest of the Green Jins finish in third place with a 3-2 record, earning the spot after a 6-1 win over Far Eastern University.

UST would finish with five gold medals, led by SEA Games bronze medalist Laila Delo in the middle/heavyweight (over-67 kg) division, with Allyah Eusalan of DLSU and Micha Villarama of NU as fellow podium placers.

Reign Ragutana claimed the welterweight (under-67 kg) title for the Tiger Jins. Joining her in the podium are Nicole Anne McCann of NU and Argie Lamasan of DLSU.

The rest of the Tiger Jins champions are Jasmine Ramirez in the finweight (under-46 kg) class over Clarence Sarza of NU and Eirenne Lumasang of Ateneo, Mary Limjoco in the bantamweight (under-53kg) class over Purcia Ang of DLSU and Abigail Abing of NU, and Tabiando.

The other gold medal that UST was unable to secure went to Florence Chavez of the University of the Philippines, who topped the featherweight (under-57 kg) title. She finished ahead of Laizel Abucay of UST and Via Trocio of NU.

In the individual awards, Barbosa's flawless campaign netted him his second Most Valuable Player nod, with Aricayos being named as the Rookie of the Year. For the women's division, Delo would be named as the Most Valuable Player, with Ragutana as the Rookie of the Year.