They may have been undermanned, but they definitely over-delivered.
The Ateneo Men’s Taekwondo Team bucked a depleted line-up to finish third at the UAAP tournament held in University of Santo Tomas on September 16 and 19. The Women’s Team settled for fifth place after losing to De La Salle University, 1-6, in their last event.
Expectations
“Actually, I thought we would not win any of our seven matches,” Coach Jobet Morales said in Fiipino after the tournament.
Morales relates that the Jins had a tough time in the first day of the tournament–even coming into the game doubting their chance. “Papasok pa lang sila ng arena, kita sa mga mata nila na talo na sila agad (You could see it in their eyes, they already looked defeated as they entered the arena),” he said.
But he pointed out, “Sabi ko, ‘I’m not after the medal. I’m after your best fight. Walang sisihan no matter what happens (I told them…No blaming no matter what happens).’”
And so the following Saturday, Team Ateneo came out more aggressive despite their undermanned lineup. In fact, they beat a lot of national team members and even won several individual awards.
Gyle Geñoso won all of his matches and immediately landed on first place. On the other hand, team captain Mark Dizon won his gold via point system as he was tied with another competitor who also had a 4-1 standing. Kavin Antonio also contributed a silver medal. Wendell Barte contributed a Top 3 finish to the team.
Rookie Ivana Mabunay shone in the women’s team by clinching the bronze medal with a 4-1 win-loss record. “Ivana surpassed my expectations. Sa training easy-easy lang siya, but ang daming techniques in the actual game. She’s a mutant in the arena,” Morales said.
At a disadvantage
Still, Morales was a bit disappointed because the team could have gotten the gold medal if they had enough players. Aside from missing players, one of their key members was also ruled ineligible a day before their weigh-in for the tournament.
Senior Pauline Angeles, the strongest Jin in the women’s team, encountered eligibility problems since she took fewer units than required to participate in the UAAP.
Because of this, the women’s team only had six players for the seven-match fights. They had to be scattered among the various weight divisions and some ended up not on their appropriate category. Moreover, their opponents got one automatic win which made it harder for Ateneo to compete for the top three spots.
Despite that, team captain Quennie Trono says they made do with what they had. “We actually did well. Like FEU is the strongest team in the women’s division but hindi kami nabugbog as expected (we weren’t beaten up as expected),” Trono said.
For the men’s team, however, Dizon said they have to train the heavier players more. In their last match against champions UST, they were already on a 3-0 winning streak until the four players in the heavier weight categories lost to the Tigers.
Team captains Dizon and Trono agree in saying recruitment is a big problem for the taekwondo team. “The problem is that our recruits don’t pass the ACET. Sa Ateneo kasi kailangan hindi lang puro galing sa sports, we have to balance our studies also (In Ateneo, you can’t just be good in sports),” said Dizon.
