FOOTBALL
FOUR VETERANS cut, and one more pending, nobody’s place on the team roster is certain.
Coach Ompong Merida is taking the necessary precautions to rebuild his squad from the bottom up, starting with tightening up recruitment.
“Every year, all players have to try-out again, but this summer’s tryouts were definitely a lot stricter,” veteran and Blue Booters forward, Anton Amistoso said.
Explaining the rationale behind the surprise cuts, Amistoso said that the long-time coach wanted new players. “Coach said, if I have to choose between a player in his last year who plays at a level of a 7, but the rookie is a 5 to 6, I’d rather take the rookie, because I could make them a 10 in the coming years.”
As they embark on a five game tournament in Ang Liga this July, Coach Ompong plans to make yet another cut. The men’s football season starts in the second semester.
BADMINTON
THE BLUE Shuttlers had quite a run last season, only losing to UP in the round robin, but eventually losing to UST in the semifinals.
“Last year we fell short, because of the line up,” Toby Gadi, last year’s UAAP rookie of the year, said.
In preparation for the UAAP badminton tournament in August, Coaches Kennie Asuncion and Alma Ledesma have increased the intensity in the team’s training.
The coaches added another training session, so players now train once in the morning before classes, and then again later in the afternoon.
“Coach wants player specialization,” Gadi said.
Additionally, key tactical changes have been made in the team line up with regard to specialization. Hence, players that are better in singles or in doubles, will specialize on their respective fields, as opposed to training for both.
Key additions to the team are Justin Natividad and Paoie Natividad.
SWIMMING
THE BLUE Tankers tested the currents of the Celebrity Sports Plaza last June for the 4th leg of the G-League Swim Series.
“Being the first meet of the season, we were a bit rusty when it came to the competitive atmosphere,” Mike Contreras said.
Evan Uy still proves to be a recurring force in the waters as he bested 24 men in the 400m freestyle arena, while landing the second top spot in the 100m backstroke and the 100m freestyle events. High school MVP, Sean Tan, claimed the 200m backstroke while falling a little short in the 50m butterfly event and 50m breaststroke at second place.
A number of swimmers also qualified theirw time for the National Long Course Championship.
“We’ve improved our times greatly since the G-league because training has been really intense,” Contreras ends.
