WITH THE beginning of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 79 fast approaching, the Ateneo Taekwondo Team is getting as much competitive experience as they can, in order to prepare themselves for the UAAP Season 79 taekwondo tournament. The tournament is bound to take place this coming October.
Members of the Ateneo Taekwondo Team have recently been involved in two competitions over the summer. Blue jins Team Captain Aaron Agojo represented the country in the 2016 Gyeongju Korea Open International Taekwondo Championships held last June 30 to July 5, while lady jins Jana Morales, Bea Bautista, and Patricia Abalos participated in the 2016 National Poomsae Championships which was held last July 26, 2016.
A learning experience for Agojo
Agojo was the only delegate from the Ateneo who was sent to Korea to represent the Philippines in the seniors division. On top of training with the Ateneo team, Agojo also trained with national team the whole summer leading up to the Korea Open.
According to Agojo, the standard level of the competition in the Korea Open is very high. Olympians and Taekwondo veterans alike compete, making the Korea Open a very prestigious tournament. The blue jins team captain made it through the first round, where he defeated Kazakhstan. Unfortunately, he was ousted in the second round against Korea where he faced the recently crowned champion of the 2016 Asian Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Tournament—hKim Seok Bae.
The competition provided Agojo an opportunity to increase points on his personal ranking, however, this ranking has no bearing in the UAAP. Nevertheless, it was still a valuable learning experience for the blue jins veteran who is relishing the chance to lead his team once again in the upcoming UAAP Season 79 taekwondo tournament.
“Siguro mas tataas yung place namin kasi nagtrain kami halos buong year (Hopefully, we’ll be able to place higher [than last season] because we’ve been training for almost the whole year),” he said.
He also notes that the blue jins will be participating in the upcoming 40th National Taekwondo Championships and Philippine Taekwondo Association Taekwondo League, which will give them a chance to study their UAAP oppositions while providing them with more competitive experience.
Good omens for lady jins ahead of UAAP season
The lady jins made use of the UAAP off-season period to garner extra experience as well by joining the National Poomsae Championships held in the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City. Lady jins Bea Bautista, Jana Morales, and Patricia Abalos participated in both individual and team events, with the trio garnering a bronze in the team event.
The result bodes well for the upcoming UAAP season, where Bautista expects the lady jins to win medals. “The goal is always a gold [medal]. Hopefully we’ll get a medal for the team event,” she said.
Coach Jec Panotes was clearly pleased with the bronze medal finish of the poomsae trio. Panotes, a four-time UAAP gold medalist, believes that this experience shows that the lady jins can bring UAAP glory back to the Katipunan-based school. “Basta tuloy-tuloy ‘yung practice (As long as [we] continue to practice), we have a big, big chance,” he said
Panotes also discussed the possibility of Asian champion and US-based Pauline Lopez lining up for the lady jins this coming season. According to Panotes, the Ateneo is hoping to agree to negotiations he discussed regarding Lopez’ full scholarship and dormitory before the season starts. “If we can agree on the terms, Pauline Lopez will fight for Ateneo this coming school year,”esaid Panotes. iShe will be a good addition to the team.”
After making their marks on the international and local taekwondo scenes, Agojo and lady jins Bautista, Morales and Abalos are looking to build on their performances and are optimistic of their chances in UAAP Season 79. With more tournaments in store for the blue and lady jins during the remainder of the off-season, the Katipunan-based side will be adding to what has already been a busy summer, as they join more competitions which will hopefully enable them to increase their medal tally in Season 79.
