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.

The incident however failed to spoil the jubilant mood of the “ten-peat” UAAP general champions, who pleated the tiara in women’s basketball, men’s volleyball, men’s and women’s tennis, baseball, softball, athletics, and swimming even as the women’s chess team settled for a decent bronze.

NCR’s initial assault came from the “four-peat” Female Tigersharks, who flooded the opening day of the swimming competition with gold-medal worthy performances from Season 70 Rookie of the Year Marvie Borja to give the Big City bets an early 16-gold splash.

Further jacking up NCR’s medal tally were the Male and Female Tracksters, who joined forces with perennial UAAP rival Far Eastern University (FEU) to dominate the athletics competition.

The Male and Female Tennisters, Golden Sox, Softbelles, and Tiger Spikers on the other hand, swept all their assignments en route to a five-way UST championship romp.

Despite failing to keep their tournament slates untainted, the Tigresses still managed to top their respective playbills.

Metro Manila’s medal haul, also boosted by telling exploits from neighboring FEU and San Beda College, redeemed the Big City from a paltry showing in Iloilo last year.