Strella Sacdalan and Bryant Cabantac of the Ateneo Fencers

On the piste, they are relentless, making calculated moves in order to strike at any given time. The GUIDON takes a look at the faces that represent the fencing team, who are set to challenge for the title anew in the upcoming UAAP season.

It starts as a hobby
Strella Sacdalan (IV BS LM), more fondly known as Mars, discovered fencing at the age of 15 out of sheer coincidence.

Mars’ alma mater, Poveda, opened up a fencing club which she joined. “I wanted to try it out so I would have a hobby,” she says. From then on, Mars, along with the sibling duo of VG Garcia (BS HSc ‘08) and Faye Garcia (III BS Psy), became part of the first Poveda fencing team.

Mars’ first competition in the sport did not turn out so well. It was an intercollegiate competition, which meant that she went against seasoned college veterans as an inexperienced high school sophomore.

Despite this, she says “It was such a big letdown [and] it made me want to take the sport seriously.” Mars did just that, winning bronze in the Philippine cadet competition and being consistent in the top five during the monthly Philippine junior opens, all in her high school years.

Taking the reins
In her first year of college, Mars continued on her successes, winning two bronzes in the UAAP women’s sabre event, as well as becoming the women’s fencing team’s rookie of the year.

But her most memorable moment was in her second year, where she won double bronze again. “It was what we needed to get the overall women’s championship that year,” she says.

From then on, she was made sabre captain in her junior year, and now, overall team captain of the women’s fencing team. “Being the team captain is [my] most honorable and humbling achievement,” Mars says.

As team captain, Mars shares that she is responsible for coordinating between the players and the coaches, tending to administrative issues, and planning for team outings and meetings. Most of all, it is her goal to unite the team. “I take it upon myself to make sure everyone feels as if they’re part of [the] team, because that is a major factor in performance, inspiring each other to train and to play hard.”

“I think the heart of every sport doesn’t lie in the number of points scored, medals won or recognition gained,” she says. “I think sports are meant to train both the body and mind. In line with that, what’s more important are the values of discipline, perseverance, dedication and sportsmanship.”

Finding his calling
Bryant Cabantac (III BS ECE) never thought he’d find his love for a sport through a TV commercial. “I saw a Milo commercial and I told my dad I wanted to try fencing,” he says.

In his grade school days, he jumped from football to taekwondo, trying to find the sport that best suited his strengths. Eventually, he found it in fencing.

“It’s dramatic, like in the movies.”

Bryant recalls considering La Salle and University of Santo Tomas because these held his courses of interest. But after discussing with his mother and receiving results of the ACET, he decided to enter Ateneo and join the Fencing Team as soon as he could. He trained rigorously with the team, but he admittedly was struggling keeping up with his other duties.

“I had to balance my training in school with the national team in training in Ultra,” he says. He has now been granted the honor of representing the country for the national squad. And this hard work and dedication has paid off as epee has scored decisive blows both here and foreign soil.

He won gold in the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) championships, contributing to the Blue Fencers’ cause. Last year, he went to Brunei to represent the country and won a bronze medal in the Southeast Asian fencing championships. He attributes his success to Filipino potential. “Filipinos really excel in technique,” he says. “This is our advantage over the speed and courage that we match up against our opponents.”

Leading the charge
Bryant has now taken up a new challenge as he faces the task of being the captain of the Blue Fencers. He is the first to admit that he’s not the perfect captain, as he struggles balancing time with the Blue Fencers and the Philippine team. But he always strives to make up for his shortcomings.

This Blue Fencer also tries to lead his team outside the arena. “There’s time for everything. I can joke around with the team at the appropriate time. But when it comes to training, we have to be serious,” Bryant says.

He admits that he has raised his voice once or twice on the training grounds.

Leading the Blue Fencers is a challenge this year. With a young team, he expects to have an uphill climb in bringing medals to Katipunan. But despite being unable to play in the UAAP due to other commitments, he will not stop being there for his teammates. And this counts even more than every point he puts on the board for the Blue and White.

Mars and Bryant are back in action and with renewed vigor to lead their teams to victory. Both know that the road ahead will be difficult, and it will demand the grit and determination to get them farther than they have gone before.