DUMAGUETE CITY became the melting pot of collegiate athletics as 1,907 athletes from 47 universities from across the country competed in 13 different sports in the annual University Games (Unigames) held on October 24-30.
Nine teams—the Blue and Lady Tracksters, Blue and Lady Netters, Blue and Lady Booters, Lady Batters, Blue Spikers and the Blue Eagles—donned the Ateneo colors to battle against worthy competition, emerging victorious with six top-three finishes.
Tearing up the track
After a championship performance in the 57th Sabah Open Track and Field Championships in Malaysia, the Blue and Lady Tracksters continued their winning form, finishing first and second place respectively—their best Unigames finish thus far.
Junior Soy Soriano led the way for the sprinters with a gold in the 100m and the 200m sprints. His time of 21.53s in the 200m set a new Unigames record.
Soriano’s explosiveness seemed to have rubbed off on his teammates as the Blue Tracksters performed exceptionally well in the succeeding relay events. The team, composed of freshman JP Capinpin (100m), Soriano (200m), Sophomore Franco Imperial (300m), and senior JP Azcueta (400m) earned a gold medal in the Classical relay.
Adding to the medal tally is sophomore Dean Roxas who won bronze medals in the 110m high hurdles and the high jump events, and team captain Azcueta who also won bronze in the 800m run.
The Lady Tracksters, on the other hand, each came home with a medal. Bronze medal finishes in the 4x200m and 4x400m, and silver medal finishes in the 4x100m and Classical relays showcased their speed as a team. Meanwhile, Angela Aquino won bronze in the 100m, while Alysa Lim won silver in the 10 kilometer run.
In the throwing events, the Blue and Lady Tracksters continued to flaunt their dominance. Former Blue Eaglet and rookie thrower Al Bugarin won gold while senior thrower Angelo Arayata won bronze on his last throw in the shot-put—edging out the College of St. Benilde (CSB) by a few centimeters. Arayata also won a gold medal in the discus throw, again edging out his competition on his sixth and final throw with a personal best of 38.96m.
Lady Tracksters team captain Mica Sibayan hauled medals, getting gold in the shot-put and discus, and a silver in the javelin. “I’m very proud of everyone, we were able to do so well, getting medals and personal bests,” she shared, “Looks like this year is going to be a great year for both the men’s and women’s team.”
Netters Stepping up
In tennis, the Blue and Lady Netters both finished at second place.
During the finals against an undefeated DLSU squad, Philippine number one seed Michelle Pang fought well but eventually fell in two sets, 6-7, 2-6.
Doubles partners Ivy de Castro and Joanne Opulencia endured three long sets before losing a nail-biting match, 6-2, 4-6, 7-10.
The Blue Netters, on the other hand, had their hands full against a powerful CSB team.
Andre Banate lost in straight sets 5-7, 3-6 while the pair of Julius Lagman and Ayo Canlas were defeated, 0-6, 0-6.
Second runner-up
Although they were rusty early in the tournament, the Lady Batters dismantled La Salle Misamis 12-1, to finish in third place with 2-2 win-loss card—winning against Central Philippine University, but losing against powerhouses Rizal Technological University and Adamson University.
The Lady Booters also grabbed a third place finish after defeating the University of San Carlos, 2-0 in the battle for third.
The ladies in Blue booked a spot in the semi-finals with a convincing 4-0 win against De La Salle Bacolod, but fell short of reaching the finals, succumbing to rivals and UAAP defending champions De La Salle University, who gave the Lady Booters their only loss of the tournament.
Striker Cess Trinidad said, “our Unigames campaign was tough because we had very tough and high spirited opponents.”
According to Trinidad, higher intensity can be expected from the Lady Booters.
The team has improved a lot both in offense and defense. “We’ve got more spirit, more talent and we’re ready to use all those inside the field,” Trinidad said.
Dethroned
One of the biggest surprises of the Unigames was the outcome of the basketball tournament
The Blue Eagles, who are back-to-back Unigames champions cruised through the early rounds but dropped to fourth place after losing to a feisty National University Bulldogs team led by rookie Ray Parks in the semi-finals. (Ed’s note: Parks has since left NU to play for NCAA Division 1 School Georgia Tech University.)
The Eagles then lost to UAAP runners-up FEU, 78-84, in the battle for third place.
Despite the loss, the Blue Eagles were not downtrodden.
“The team’s performance was okay considering we were on break for about 2-3 weeks since the finals,” said center Frank Golla. He added that their gameplay during the Unigames wasn’t as polished as the UAAP season.
“But we were able to do what coach [Norman Black] wanted us to do—play defense.”
Mounting a comeback
The Blue Spikers faced all types of struggles, winning only one out of their four matches in the Unigames.
Their only win came in a five-set thriller against Eulogio “Amang” Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology where the Spikers climbed back from a five point lead to win the match.
In men’s football, the Blue Booters were outplayed by tough competition, losing two of their three games in the tournament—one to La Salle Bacolod and another to Central Philippines University.
Though they won their last game against the University of Northern Philippines, they did not qualify for further rounds due to their first two losses.
Miguel Tuazon of the Blue Booters admitted that the team performed below par during the Unigames. “But we knew [that] we are capable of becoming better as a unit,” he said.
He added that the Unigames was good preparation for the UAAP season. “Our goal in this tournament was not really to win but to gain experience, especially for our rookies,” he said.
With the UAAP football season starting in January, Tuazon and the Blue Booters have strengthened their midfield play.
“All of us know that our team will bounce back this year because we plan on bringing back the fight in the Men’s Football Team,” he said.
