THE ATENEAN judokas enter the dojo, bow their heads out of respect, close the doors and kick off their training session with no distractions. For the next couple of hours, these fighters will immerse themselves in an all-out program that seeks to refine their skills as champion members of the Ateneo Judo Association (AJA).

Although the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) is the main focus for the Ateneo Judo team, hard work and resilience does not end there. Practice goes on all-year round as these athletes sign up in various competitions, even beyond the national level.

The latest international tournaments the AJA joined were the Zecotek-Jagsport Championships and the Southeast Asian (SEA) Judo Championships in Singapore last November 21 to 22. Ateneo did not go home empty handed, as all 10 Atenean delegates bagged at least one medal.

Non-stop action

To further prepare for their international stint, the Blue and Lady Judokas continued with their training program immediately after the 77th Season of the UAAP. The team had no offseason, as their practice sessions’ difficulty was raised a bar higher to properly brace the delegates for their weekend in Singapore.

More repetitions, weights and technical skills specialization heavily increased the intensity of their days in the dojo. As team captain of the women’s team Dany Ty exclaims, “It’s basically everything in [regular] training, but times five.”

With the international level new to the Atenean representatives, the team entered the competition without any pressure. The main goal of the self-funded team was simply to give it everything that they had. They also wanted to gain as much experience from the trip as possible, what with the various national team opponents they had to face.

The judokas emphasized that they just played their game like it was any other tournament. “We didn’t know what we were going against there. So we just went with it,” says Ty.

Zecotek-Jagsport Championships

Although these judokas came in with a composed mindset, there were immediate setbacks once they arrived in Singapore. Within hours of arriving at the airport, the team was already expected to compete in some of the Jagsport matches. “Well, there was a mix-up in the schedule; when we got [to Singapore]… We thought that we were going to compete [on] Saturday. But as soon as we got there, we got a text [saying] that we were going to compete that night,” team veteran Carissa Veloso shares.

The team had to delay their much-awaited splurge on Singaporean food, as they were required to dehydrate and not eat in order to make the proper weight. The matchup disadvantages they faced also served as a difficulty. “They’re so tall compared to all of us,” says Ty with disbelief, adding that their opponents were stronger as well.

Despite the last-minute changes in the schedule, the team was able to bag multiple medals individually. The medalists were Mon Tuazon and Elyza Bagos for bronze, Ty, Martel Agustin, Miggy Arayata and IC Tuazon for silver, and Veloso and Ralph Sapi for gold.

They relied on their resilience and set no pressure on themselves when it came to competing. “I lost my first match; [for] the next match, my mindset was, ‘You know what, I have nothing to lose,’” says management freshman Tuazon. “I already spent thousands to get here, so I might as well enjoy this match.”

SEA Judo Championships

During the second half of the weekend, Samantha Dela Costa and AC Divina donned the colors of the Philippines on their way to bronze medal finishes in the SEA Judo Championships.

The duo was handpicked by the president of the Judo Federation of the Philippines alongside other outstanding judokas in the country. The pair expressed that they carried themselves with confidence despite their underdog status in the tournament.

Their opponents were top-of-the-class athletes who knew each other well because of their international experience. The Philippine delegates were unfamiliar and were under the radar among their opponents. “Usually in international tournaments, the tendency is you’re not going to get pressured because they don’t know you that well,” shares Divina in a mix of English and Filipino. In the end, Divina and Dela Costa were able to take advantage of their opponents’ lack of knowledge on their quicker playing style.

Despite their underdog status and the lack of judo’s popularity in the Philippines, the number of medals the team garnered shows that the country has the potential for success. “It gives hope to everyone that we aren’t a hopeless case,” shares Dela Costa. She emphasized that the Philippines can go head to head with other countries even in international competitions.

Expanding the family

Despite their successful stint abroad, the fight for success doesn’t end in Singapore, as the team seeks to expand the entire judo community in the country. Ty expresses that the judo team has a lot of potential for victories, but just hasn’t reached the range that the other sports have. Veloso adds, “We’re not as popular as the other sports but we’re producing results.”

Although they were unable to field all of the athletes abroad in international exposure due to their limited resources, they still make it a point to constantly look out for each other. The AJA is a family, as exemplified by the team’s performance in Singapore. “Kahit isa lang manalo, panalo na kaming lahat (Even if it’s just one person who wins, everyone else on the team wins too),” Dela Costa describes their camaraderie.

The team’s performance in Singapore is just one of the possible tournaments they’ll be competing in. For now, these judokas are focused on getting better everyday and adding experience by burning time in the dojo. The Blue Judokas’ Team Captain Matt Jao states, “It’s not the kind of sport that you need to have been doing it for a long time. Rather it’s something that as long as you put your heart into it, as long as you want to get better, as long as you have the drive for everything, you can become a champion in this sport.”

Updated on Feb. 23, 2015 at 12:47 AM