LAST JULY, a number of Atenean athletes represented both their school and their country in the 18th ASEAN University Games (AUG) held in Singapore. Of the country’s 37 medals, 11 were hauled home by the Blue and White.

However, the Philippines’ lackluster 6th place finish in the overall medal tally showed the great divide in the level of competition locally and internationally. UAAP and national champions were humbled by their ASEAN counterparts and saw how being the best in the country was not enough in the international scene.

Returning medalists

Not new to international competitions were the powerhouse athletes of the Blue and White last season – the members of the Swimming and Volleyball teams.

In the swimming tournament, all eight medals came from the women’s division, where Hannah Dato proved to be the top medal-getter, winning six medals in individual events. The two-time UAAP Most Valuable Player bagged a trio of silvers in the 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly, and 200m individual medley, as well as three bronzes in the 400m individual medley, 100m freestyle, and 200m butterfly.

Ariana Herranz also brought home a pair of medals, bagging bronze in the 200m Backstroke event and a silver in the 400m medley relay alongside Dato and Winona Tee Ten and Joy Rodgers of University of the Philippines. Initially, the team finished third in the rankings, but a disqualification of the Thai team handed them the silver.

FAITH AND TRUST. The Ateneo Taekwondo Team trains for their upcoming competitions for the school year. Photo by Vincent D. Soliven

In the volleyball division, both the men’s and women’s volleyball teams bagged the bronze medal finishes after their medal-deciding matches between Singapore.

The Ateneo Women’s Volleyball Team came back to defend their bronze medal from the 2014 edition of the AUG, featuring the Phenom Alyssa Valdez in her last collegiate game with the Katipunan squad.

The team was bolstered by the return of Mich Morente, who had to sit out last season due to academic problems, alongside Ana Gopico who has been nursing injuries over the past two years.

The team’s first two games were surrendered to first runner-up Indonesia and AUG champion Thailand. However, the Philippine contingent was able to get their first win against Singapore in straight sets, a team they would defeat again in the battle for third in a nerve-wracking five-set match to win the bronze medal for the country.

For the back-to-back champions of the UAAP Men’s Volleyball division, it was their first time bearing the Philippine flag in the AUG. Initial adjustments to the international scene were shown, as they bowed to Thailand in four sets in their opening match. However, they immediately picked up the pace with two straight wins against Laos and Singapore. However, the defeat in their final elimination game against Indonesia resulted to facing the host team for the bronze medal match, where they overwhelmed Singapore in straight sets to claim a medal for the country.

Coach Oliver Almadro praised his team for grabbing the bronze medal for the Philippines whilst competing against very stiff competition and put into perspective the increasing level of volleyball in the country.

“Even with the powerhouse of Thailand and Indonesia, whose players are mostly part of their national teams, we are not far,” says Almadro. “The games were really close to say that the volleyball program in the Philippines is improving, especially the volleyball program of Ateneo.”

The fencing tournment featured the sole lady fencer, Justine Joseph, who was part of the country’s delegation in the women’s sabre team that nabbed a bronze medal for the country.

Despite their hard-fought loss against Indonesia in the semi-finals, Team Philippines was able to recover and win over Singapore in the battle-for-third.

“The team adjusted from the mistakes made in the semi-final bout,” said Joseph. “They were also confident because they also fought well in their earlier bout (against Indonesia), so they brought that with them.”

New to the playing field

In contrast to the internationally experienced teams, AUG 2016 featured the internatioal debuts of the members of the Ateneo Track & Field Team, Ateneo Rifle-Pistol Team (ARPT) and Blue Archers Archery Club member Dranz Barbin. For the debutants, going past the local scene posed challenges.

Tracksters Kimberly Zulueta and Joseph Bernard Capinpin from the Ateneo Track & Field Team joined the athletics division of the AUG. Zulueta had no expectations coming into the games after she qualified through her performance in the 100m dash last season. With AUG 2016 being Zulueta’s first time competing abroad, she stated that the games she participated in were all for the experience and the important thing for her was to be able to do her best. The lady trackster finished third in the heats of the women’s 200m dash and advanced to the finals. Despite not earning a medal, she established her new personal best.

Blue trackster Capinpin was selected because of his silver medal finish in the men’s decathlon in the 2016 Philippine National Athletics Open. However, things were more difficult for Capinpin as he was forced into a training regimen change because there was no decathlon in the AUG. The trackster was given the 200m dash and a slot in the 4x100m relay instead. Due to this, Capinpin started out shakily in the 200m sprint, missing the qualification to the finals. However, he made amends in the 4×100 relay as he contributed a good gap as the lead runner, but the team was eventually disqualified due to a baton passing infraction.

The lone Philippine archer in the field, Dranz Barbin, thought that international competitions are as manageable as that of the local scene. Barbin struggled in the qualifying round to finish 14th and was knocked out in his head-to-head match against 3rd seed Alec Eduar of Indonesia in the round of 16.

“The high level of competition can either inspire you to work harder when you head back home or convince you to throw in the towel. I’m sure for most of us in the Philippines, we’re thinking the former,” said Barbin.

Barbin also expressed his frustration about how little support he felt the Philippine delegation received compared to competitors, saying that “other countries treat their athletes like athletes.”

He cited that Team Philippines was the only one without a single unified attire, which he found embarrassing. Barbin recalls seeing one entire country’s delegation using the same model of luggage, whilst some Filipino athletes had to pay for their own airfare and lodging.

“I know we aren’t affiliated with the PSC,” says Barbin. “But I just wish they helped out a little to make us look like Team Philippines rather than a group of university athletes that happened to be playing for the Philippines.”

Sherry Gonida, co-captain of the ARPT, also lamented about how far behind the Philippines is in the sport of shooting, particularly in terms of facilities and guns. Aside from these, ARPT found out about AUG in April, giving them only one month of training before the competition. The team attributed their subpar AUG performance to the pressure of it being their first international competition, as well as the delay in informing the team about their inclusion in the games.

Overall, the Philippine representatives to this year’s AUG were glad to be able to gain more experience with competing on a national level, though they recognize that they must continue with their training in order to come back with a stronger finish next year.