THE ATENEO Blue and Lady Eagles displayed a strong showing at the 2016 Hajime Judo Tournament, powering their way to nine individual podium finishes. Hosted by the Ateneo Judo Association (AJA), the tournament was held at the Blue Eagle Gym in the Ateneo de Manila University on Sunday, April 17.

The Lady Eagles were dealt a setback early on, with key player Mei Uy suffering an injury after being locked in an arm bar. While she remained within the venue for the remainder of the tournament, Uy was forced to default her repechage match. On the other hand, Seanne Cheung (+78kg) nabbed the sole gold for the Lady Eagles, while Jasime Cafe (-63kg) and Laura Frayna (-52kg) claimed silver and bronze medals, respectively.

The Blue Eagles, meanwhile, showed why there were the defending University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) champions, as Nico Clemente (-73kg), Marco Lasam (-66kg), and Monch Santiago (-90kg) asserted their dominance on the mats to claim gold medals. Ralph Sapi (-73kg), who was defeated in the final match by his teammate Clemente, brought home the silver. Finally, Miggy Arayata (-81kg) and UAAP Season 78 gold medalist Jaq Querubin (-100kg) claimed bronze medals for the Blue and White.

Two-time UAAP gold medalist Santiago once again led the way for the Eagles, competing in the first and last matches of the day for the Blue Eagles. The team captain believes that although he is graduating this year, this was likely not his final game for the Ateneo, given the possibility of him playing a fifth year next season.

Santiago said that the 2016 edition of Hajime has undoubtedly met its goals, despite attracting fewer international judokas than expected. “There were lots of great matches. [The tournament] went really smooth, we got a lot of people, and it was a success,” he said.

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