UST sweeps to secure HS Taekwondo title

c/o UAAP

UAAP Season 85 High School Boys' Taekwondo Kyorugi standings

UST 4-0
FEU-Diliman 3-1
NU-Nazareth 2-2
Ateneo 1-3
DLS-Zobel 0-4

The University of Santo Tomas flexed its dominance of the high school kyorugi portion of the UAAP Season 85 taekwondo championships at the Blue Eagle Gym on Tuesday.

The Tiger Jins won all four of its ties to claim its fourth straight title and fourteenth overall.

When asked about what makes their program successful, head coach Gershon Bautista shares, "I think ano na talaga yun eh, mind-setting talaga. Kahit anong sabihin natin -- players na bagong balik, bagong salta, many of them, nagkita lang kami after nung pandemic. Hindi naman sa 'min nanggaling eh."

He adds, "The program is strong because of the mindset of the players and they believe in the training regimen. We believe in them and they, in turn, believe in us."

UST started the day off with a 4-1 win over NU-Nazareth, then swept Ateneo, 5-0. They would clinch the title with a 4-1 triumph over FEU-Diliman, rendering their final tie against La Salle-Zobel, which they won 5-0, as non-bearing.

Legolas Peñaredondo would clinch the championship with a 2-0 (4-1 and 13-6) win over Vinn Pineda of FEU-Diliman to lock in the third win of their tie against the Baby Tamaraws.

FEU secured second place by defeating the Bullpups, 3-2 to finish with a 3-1 record. The Baby Tamaraws secured the win by winning the last two matches of the tie, with Pineda defeating John Balido, 2-1 (1-8, 2-0, 5-0) to set up the deciding matchup, which James Camillo would clinch with a 2-1 (13-2, 0-1, 11-2) win over Kurt Bodegas.

NU-Nazareth ends up in third place with a 2-2 record.

In the individual categories, Peñaredondo was named as the Most Valuable Player, aside from topping the fourth category (63-70 kg). Pineda would finish as runner-up in the same category, while John Balido of NU-Nazareth secured the bronze medal. Balido was also chosen as the Rookie of the Year. 

UST also claimed the gold medals in the first (under-48 kg) and third (55-63 kg) categories, with Sean Duenas securing the former and Jose Jacob Cartagena taking the latter.

Joining Duenas as first category medalists are Rodito Sinugbojan Jr. of NU-Nazareth and Timothy Melicado of FEU-Diliman. Serving as company for Cartagena in the podium are Kent Banzon of NU-Nazareth and Juztene Buan of FEU-Diliman.

The other two categories went to FEU, with Felix Castel securing the second (48-55 kg) category and Camillo in the fifth (63-70 kg) category. Accompany Castel as his podium peers are Renzo Gavillanes of UST and Noel Macasaet of Ateneo, while Bodegas and John Gabriega of UST join Camillo.