THE ATENEO Blue and Lady Judokas were hoping to avenge their lackluster performance last season at this year’s the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 76 Judo Tournament held at the Blue Eagle Gym last September 28 and 29.

The Blue Judokas were crowned the champions in the men’s division while the Lady Judokas finished first runner-up to the De La Salle University (DLSU) team.

In the men’s division, University of the Philippines (UP) and DLSU placed second and third, respectively. University of the East claimed third place in the women’s division.

The Ateneo Juniors team also finished with the championship, making it a successful weekend for Coach Ali Sulit and his troops.

Day 1

This season’s campaign opened with ASEAN University Games silver mdealist Anjo Gumila (-90kg) securing a victory on a waza-ari throw and a pin. But things began to look bleak for the Blue Judokas, as Martell Agustin, Boris Jao and Roberto Da Silva lost their respective matches.

Taking it upon himself to lead the team back to the podium, Team Captain Matthew Jao successfully pinned his opponent down and earned himself a victory with an ippon, snapping the Blue Judokas three-match losing skid.

Gumila also capped off his UAAP career with gold medal in the -90 kg category and teammate Carlo Agustin won the bronze in the same category.

In the men’s -100kg division, two Blue Judokas ended with podium finishes. Lorenzo Vicencio lost to UP’s Christian Bautista in a tense match. Vicencio finished with a silver medal while teammate Boris Jao won bronze.

The Lady Judokas heavily depended on Team Captain Samantha dela Costa to set the tone for their campaign, having opened their season with a victory. dela Costa finished with the gold medal in the -48kg category. Fellow Lady Judokas Carmela Moran (-52kg) and Andrea Divina (-57kg) finished with bronze and silver medals, respectively.

Day 2

The second day of the Judo Championships opened with Lady Judoka Arlet Coronado securing the win with an ippon. However, Coronado lost her second match via an ippon. However, she still finished with a bronze medal in the women’s -63kg category.

The day’s highlight, however, was the stellar performance of 16-year-old rookie Rap Sapi. The brown belt fighter was matched-up against much older and bigger fighters, but managed to secure a victory. He finished with a bronze medal in the -73kg category and was also awarded this season’s Rookie of the Year award. Competing in the same division was teammate Nash Bangui who bagged the silver medal. In the men’s -81kg category, Ramon Santiago and Alfred Querubin each won bronze medals.

In the -60kg category on the other hand, Marco Lasam and Zygphrg Co won silver and bronze medals respectively.

In the men’s -81kg category, Ramon Santiago and Alfred Querubin each won bronze medals.

Lady Judoka Bella Nepomuceno quickly destroyed DLSU’s Mariel Martinez in the gold medal match of the women’s -78kg division. The match ended abruptly when she threw her opponent down with an emphatic ippon. An overjoyed Nepomuceno was in tears and was mobbed by her teammates and coaches after her match.

Team Captain Jao capped off his UAAP career with a gold medal in the men’s +100kg category and the men’s division’s Most Valuable Player award.

Reflections

Sulit, head coach of the Blue and Lady Judokas, was very pleased with the team’s performance this season. “[It was] defintely a big leap from how we did last year,” he said. He added that the team worked hard to get bring the championship back to Loyola Heights.

Last year’s fourth place finish for the men’s team and fifth place finish for the women’s team are clearly still on the minds the players. However, they used this as their motivation for this season.

According to Team Captain Jao, “Last year, we were just one point away from a podium finish. Second runner up (DLSU) and first runner up (UP) were tied with 24 points and we had 23 points. If we got one point, since we already had two gold medals, we could have gotten a first runner up finish.”

After last year’s results, the team decided that their program needed to undergo some radical changes, beginning with their new recruits.

Jao said, “We’ve had significant improvements. We’ve had rookies come in and they’ve shown what they can do. We’ve had lots of people who’ve won junior championships, gold medals in nationals, medalists in different tournaments over the summer and other who’ve competed abroad.”

Aside from the recruits, internal changes were also made in order to prepare for the upcoming tournament.

First, they made improvements to their training program. Last season, the team only trained thrice a week. This year, the number of training days was increased to six times a week. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays are now scheduled for judo work, while Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays are meant for weights training.

Next, Jao wanted the team to focus on humility, dedication and above all, personal discipline. That entailed an 11pm curfew every night, no alcohol and cigarettes, well-maintained diets and even a Facebook ban one week before the UAAP season.

With all the extra training and dedication the team has put in over the course of the last year, Jao confidently claimed, “This year, nothing was lacking with everything we could have possibly done, [both] mentally and physically.”

Eligibility and Graduation

Players come and go for different reasons and this year has been no different. Blue Judokas Jao, Gumila, Co as well as Lady Judokas Nepomuceno and Margs Baluyut all donned their judogis under the Ateneo name for the last time.

For Jao, however, the end of college will not be the end of his judo career. “I’m vying for a slot in the SEA Games this year. If I win SEA Games this December, silver or gold, I’m thinking of going pro for 3 to 4 years, or maybe vie for the Olympics.”

But before those future plans materialize, the present is what Jao is focused on. “I’ve been in this league for seven years now and I can’t think of a sweeter way to end it than with a championship ring and give back to Ateneo. I started my college career with a championship and I want to end it with a championship.”

With a perfect combination of experienced veterans and spirited rookies, as well as the commitment of the coaches and managers, this season proved an impressive one for the Ateneo Blue and Lady Judokas.