Aaron Amistoso, Blue Booter
A puzzle is never complete when a piece is missing.
Anton Amistoso (I AB Comm) is the new piece that hopes to complete the Blue Booters. A versatile player, he is able to play multiple positions: striker, midfielder, or a wingman, whichever spot the team needs him to be.
Anton found his ground at an early age–playing football at the age of nine–but never settled his heart on the sport right away. For him, football was simply a leisurely game, a time to mingle with friends and exercise his social skills.
“As time passed by, I not only enjoyed playing the game, but I really had fun playing with my teammates,” he says. Anton sees passion as the gas that gets our engine running. “It’s the passion that kicks on the gas… It made me… [understand] that I am playing for a team and not for myself.”
Bearing a fistful of records, passion has definitely carried this six-footer a long way. He has made it twice to the Palarong Pambansa (NCR, Elementary and High School – PAREF Southridge), has acquired the Most Valuable Player title in his school for football, and was part of a team crowned champions in the Rizal Football Association.
These accomplishments caught the attention of Blue Booters Head Coach Ompong Merida, who handpicked him to join the squad.
The sacrifices and the physical rigors hit him hard upon entry.
“I wake up every five in the morning for practice,” he says. “It’s hard but I think it’s worth it.”
He says that he is enjoying the company of the veterans in the squad, and continues to learn from them. “I have great respect for the seniors because they teach us how to play as a team… The Blue Booters is just as great as I had imagined.”
Gretchen Ho, Lady Spiker
Gretchen Ho (I BS ME) actually preferred basketball over volleyball when she was young. “My dad always bragged that he was the star of his high school team, and so I was inspired to play basketball too.”
But destiny had other plans, in the form of Gretchen’s best friend, who challenged her to try out for their high school volleyball team in Immaculate Conception Academy. From there, she went on to become co-captain in her junior year and eventually took the reins as captain in her senior year.
Bringing all her skills and experience to the collegiate level was an almost seamless experience, but with a few quirks. “I had to adjust with all the schoolwork, but now I think I have adjusted already,” Gretchen says. “I guess it taught me how to be disciplined and to prioritize things.”
However, when all seemed well, Gretchen obtained not just one, but two separate injuries last semester. In July, she slipped during practice, sustaining a groin injury which sidelined her for over a week. About three weeks later, she injured both of her ankles, missing close to a month of practice, and limped in crutches.
“It took so long to heal, and I had to undergo therapy everyday, so it was very hard for me,” she recalls. The one thing that kept her fighting, though, was the company of her friends and teammates. Despite these injuries, Gretchen decides to look at the bright side, “Maybe God just wanted me to be stronger, maybe that’s what he thought was best for me,” she says.
Things are off to a rocky start for the women’s team after a poor performance at the recently held Shakey’s V-league, but this doesn’t disappoint Gretchen. “Most of us are rookies, and so we simply look at each game as a learning experience, in preparation for the upcoming UAAP.”
Now that she’s good to go, Gretchen wants to help the team win as much as possible. “I just love to play, and I want our team to become UAAP champions.”
Mikkel Puyat, Blue Shuttler
For some, being an athlete may simply be playing the sport you love and doing well at it, but for Mikkel Puyat (I BS Mgt), being part of the Ateneo Blue Shuttlers is so much more than that. “It’s prestigious to be a part of the team but also there’s the feeling of responsibility, like you have to give something back to the school.”
Winning is definitely in the blood of this true blue champion. Being part of the Ateneo badminton system ever since he was in first year high school, Mikkel has helped his team to victory, garnering first and second places in both Philippine Athletic Youth Association and Private Schools Athletic Development Association competitions for four straight years. “Now, it’s the 150th anniversary of the school, so all [Ateneo] teams, including us, are really working hard to be victorious.”
As a rookie, Mikkel understands his role and feels that even though he still lacks the experience when it comes to college level of competing; he knows that he can still significantly contribute to the team through hard work and dedication.
This rookie smasher manifests stern dedication, saying that he treats the sport as “something more than just an activity to stay fit and exercise, but rather as something that brings discipline through training and competition.” He adds that badminton has veered away from being a mere sport to him, turning into a fundamental part of his everyday life.
Mikkel says that their team has been continually preparing for the upcoming UAAP season in February. Outside tournaments like the Jesuit Invitational Games in Cagayan this December seek to aid this growing team and improve on their disappointing finish last year. “We’re really going to be gunning for it this year, count on that,” he says.
Stephanie Dysangco, Lady Tanker
“I’m hungry!” is Stephanie Dysangco’s (I AB Eu) version to the customary “Hello.” Despite being one of the youngest in the women’s team, her passion for good food as well as her thirst for gold is at par with her more seasoned peers who fondly call her Steph or, as the Men’s Team Captain Jonas Ramos (IV AB MEco) would put it, “little girl.”
Having started swimming almost the same time she started walking, Stephanie manages to balance school and training without any conflicts. She admittedly reveals that she wasn’t the best swimmer around.
“In a pool of 30 or so swimmers, sometimes I finish 29 or even last place. Lagi akong una sa dulo! (I’m always last!),” she jokes. “But coming in last place isn’t the important thing. It’s finishing the race fairly.” With her specialty focused on the backstroke, Stephanie became one of the gold hopefuls for UAAP.
She attributes her motivation to swimmers like Ian Thorpe, whom she admires for his humility while at the top of his game, and fellow student-athlete, Natalie Coughlin. Moreover, having supportive parents encouraged her, an only child, to stay dedicated to the team.
Though she wasn’t able to officially compete for her alma mater in the 71st UAAP season, she does her share in team development when she dutifully trains outside school grounds.
Despite her busy schedule, she still manages to get her homework done in time. In balancing academics and training, Stephanie likes to keep things simple. “I believe that situations are only as complicated as people make them.”
Rhome Yu, Lady Paddler
For some people, table tennis is a hobby that doesn’t require much effort or time. They should meet Rhome Yu (I BS LM), a Lady Paddler who dedicates three to four hours on weekdays and five hours every Saturday for practice alone.
Rhome, a newly recruited table tennis varsity player, says that training in the Ateneo is really serious because everyone aims to be mentally and physically fit as they train to improve on their weaknesses.
She started venturing into the sport when she was in fifth grade at St. Stephen’s Elementary School but stopped for about two years before returning for good during her second year at St. Stephen’s High School.
“I get really excited, It’s the feeling that you [want to] give your opponent great competition. It’s not really about winning, it’s about doing your best. But of course I do my best to win!” she says.
Indeed, giving her all seems to work for Rhome as she has won championships in tournaments like the Women’s National Collegiate Athletics Association and the 2nd Josefa Cup, proving how great of a paddler Rhome is.
After her glorious days in the past, Rhome seems to be facing a greater challenge, and that is the challenge to bounce back after her team had finished 5th place in the last UAAP season.
She says that last season, the team suffered due to lack of training time. “We’ll do better next season,” Rhome adds. “It was also bad that experience was not on our side. We will train harder now.”
Venica Jose, Lady Booter
Following the departure of six players from last year’s roster, the rebuilding process presents Coach Scarlett Bautista with a renewed nucleus of talent which includes Venica Jose (I AB Psy), midfielder and former captain of Miriam High School’s football team.
Venica developed an interest in football as a high school freshman when she joined the Ateneo Football Club. As a sophomore, she tried out for Miriam’s football team and donned the school’s colors for three years. She rose to the rank of team captain in her senior year and led them to a Rizal Football Association Championship.
Her lanky frame has always stirred second thoughts about her potential to compete on a college level, but she makes up for that by working extra hard on the field.
She is also proud to come from a blue-blooded family. Both of her parents are Ateneans, and two of her brothers are currently studying here as well. She claims that it has always been her dream to be in Ateneo.
She also recalls how her high school coach strongly believed that she would one day play for Ateneo, which influenced her decision to study in Ateneo as well. “It’s a dream being here, and an even bigger dream to represent Ateneo as an athlete,” she says.
