The Varsitarian

FOR A CITY whose streets had witnessed many a bomb attack, a growling explosion maybe an understament.

But detonating the wreaker on the sporting arena is an entirely different story. The culprit? The fearsome UST contingent which demolished all sorts of opposition along the way to conquer the 2008 Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) national meet last April 8 to 13 in Zamboanga City.

A year after taking a break from PRISAA hostilities, the 100-man strong Thomasian army returned with aplomb, posting golden victories in seven disciplines to propel National Capital Region (NCR) atop the over-all ladder with over 180 golds in its sack.

The black-gold-white campaigners’ fiery showing came at the heels of a bomb explosion that rocked the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in downtown Zamboanga City, minutes before the meet wrapped up the final day of competition last April 13.  read more »

THEIR Season 70 nightmare is finally over.

Learning from the gloomy lessons of a botched UAAP finals campaign, the UST Golden Sox plunged into PRISAA action with a more tightly knit gameplan to post a flawless 5-0 tournament record, including an 11-6 dismissal of reigning baseball champion Davao (Region 11) in the gold-medal match last April 13.

“Every aspect of the game was in-sync,” assistant coach Sherwin Canlas told the Varsitarian. “The pitchers had decent outings, the offense ran smoothly, and the errors were minimized.”

Tournament MVP Israel Ona belted a two-run clincher and sent home four UST runners in a clinical show of firepower which Davao badly handled, on some occasions, down the stretch.  read more »

UAAP or not, it’s always cherry-picking for the UST Tennisters.

Dropping just one match in their entire Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA) campaign, the back-to-back UAAP men’s and women’s champions satisfactorily hurdled their first off-season tests, brushing aside opponents to rule the meet’s lawn tennis finale last April 10.

The Male Tennisters humbled Southern Mindanao (Region 9), 2-1, while their female counterparts ousted Central Visayas (Region 7), 2-0, to underscore their reputation as tournament heavyweights following another banner season in the UAAP.  read more »

THE EUPHORIC splash to UAAP immortality should have long drowned the UST Female Tigersharks into complacency.

But that scenario remained wishful thinking for their PRISAA rivals as the “four-peat” UAAP champions again swam their way to glory, delivering A1 performances in the meet’s swimming competition last April 9 to 13 at the Joaquin F. Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex in Zamboanga City.

Patrolling the waters for the National Capital Region (NCR) alongside tankers from San Beda College, the Season 70 champions netted 36 golds in the individual and team events while shattering PRISAA records along the way.  read more »

THEIR perennial under-the-ceiling reputation on the UAAP front hardly mattered for members of the UST athletics team this time as they momentarily shelved a heated rivalry with Far Eastern University to deliver the goods for the National Capital Region (NCR) at the onset of the PRISAA track and field competition last April 9.

“Team NCR just had to win,” UST coach Manny Calipes told the Varsitarian. “This time we brought home the victory.”

Season 70 MVP Bernardita Mag-aso and Rookie of the Year Luville Dato-on led the UST-FEU reinforced NCR squad on top of the medal heap in the women’s division with 33 golds, nine silvers, and three bronzes.  read more »

THE ODDS notwithstanding, a medal-less homecoming was the last thing the UST Lady Woodpushers could think of.

Culling enough buffer points in the preliminaries, the Season 70 titlists survived a freak last-round mishap to nail the team bronze and join fellow UST medalists on the PRISAA victory trail last April 13 at the Pilar College auditorium in Zamboanga City.

Backstopped by Season 70 MVP Maria Zayrah dela Cruz, Romelin Guerra, Geneline de Ramos and Rizza Mae Dizon, the UST-powered National Capital Region delegation chalked up 12.5 points in five rounds to finish behind eventual champion Bacolod-Western Visayas (Region 6) and silver winner Cebu-Central Visayas (Region 7), which tallied 15 and 14.5 over-all markers, respectively.  read more »

ARMED to the sleeves with UAAP-caliber plays, the UST Tiger Spikers again showed how deadly they are behind the net, anytime, anywhere.

True enough, the Season 70 champions found little trouble disposing of a predictable Angeles University Foundation-bannered Central Luzon (Region 3) squad, 25-19, 25-13, 20-25, 25-10, en route to claiming the Private Schools Athletic Association men’s volleyball title last April 13.

“We just ran our strong plays like the usual and that was enough,” assistant coach Odjie Mamon told the Varsitarian.

With the victory, the Tiger Spikers, led by tournament MVP Reny John Balse, rammed in the last six golds for the powerhouse National Capital Region contingent.  read more »

MORE than just sharpening their claws away from the lair, the UST Tigresses went into a greater off-season workout, polishing potential offensive and defensive fangs among their second stringers.

With the PRISAA diadem on the line, the former UAAP champions – reeling from the previously quiet showing of their bread-and-butter tandem – gamely gambled on the team’s reserves, who responded well to help UST secure its first off-season title via a 73-58 spanking of a stubborn Central Visayas (Region 7) squad last April 13.

“They (the Tigresses) showed a lot of potential,” assistant coach Julie Amos, named as the tournament’s Best Coach, told the Varsitarian. “Several players off the bench stepped up to help the team’s key performers.”  read more »

THE ROAD to redemption is no walk in the park, after all.

But the UST Tiger Cubs, leaving behind a dismal UAAP season, continue to stay on course despite a wobbly round-up in the on-going Nike Summer League.

“All of this is in preparation for the upcoming UAAP season,” coach Allan Ascue told the Varsitarian. “We haven’t reached our peek yet but I think this would greatly reflect our performance.”

Riding on an 18-0 first-quarter salvo, the España-based cagers easily disposed of a hapless Jose Abad Santos Memorial School team, 89-23, last May, 8 at the Far Eastern University gym to chalk up their third win in five starts.

The Tiger Cubs pounced on their opponents’ passing miscues right from the opening tiff with a flurry of hook shots, lay-ups, and jumpers to turn a 26-6 lead into an insurmountable 50-11 bulge at halftime.  read more »

MAIGI kong pinagmamasdan ang tanawin mula sa bintana ng eroplano. Mula sa malayo, gatuldok na lamang ang mga kotse, habang ang mga bahay nama’y sinliit na lang ng ulo ng posporo. Ang kagubata’y tila isang berdeng banig, habang ang dagat nama’y parang asul na kumot na nakalatag sa isang malawak na sahig!

Gustuhin ko mang ilapat ang aking mga daliri sa tuktok ng bundok at sumalok ng tubig-dagat, hinding-hindi ko naman ito magagawa. Abot-tanaw ko ang langit at ang mga ulap, ngunit gaya ng pagtanaw ko sa mga bundok at dagat, mananatili na lamang akong isang masugid na tagahanga.  read more »