THE ATENEO Men’s and Women’s Judo teams kicked off their campaigns at the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Judo tournament with a promising display of heart on Saturday, November 11 at De La Salle Santiago Zobel School in Muntinlupa City.
The Blue Eagles collected two bronze, one silver, and one gold medal, while the Lady Eagles tallied one bronze medal of their own, as the race for the crown heats up in the two-day event.
Blue Eagles
Seven Blue Eagles competed in the men’s tournament, with two players per school being fielded across four divisions on the first day of the seniors’ competition. Mon Tuazon and Miggy Arayata represented the Blue and White in the -81kg division, while Alfred Querubin and Alfonso Limjap suited up for the -90kg category. Miguel Sadorra and Allen San Juan competed in the -100kg division, while Rafael Cadiente was the lone Blue Eagle in the +100kg category.
The first matches of the day opened with the -81kg division quarters. Arayata went head to head with Luis San Diego from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in the quarterfinals, with the latter prevailing, 1-3. Tuazon managed to prevail in his quarterfinal match-up, defeating Zildjian Munsayac from the University of the Philippines (UP).
Arayata then faced De La Salle University’s (DLSU) Lorenzo Mantilla in the repechage and earned a 2-0 win to win a ticket to the bronze medal match. Tuazon booked a semifinals slot against Robert Quito of UST and then went on to outlast his foe at 1-0 to put a Blue Eagle in the finals. Arayata then met Quito in the bronze medal match, nailing a takedown and being awarded an ippon to give the Blue and White the bronze.
The -81kg division finals pitted Blue Eagle Tuazon against Luis San Diego from UST. Looking strong throughout the duel, Tuazon fought hard to bring San Diego down, managing to pin his foe long enough to seal the point in a 1-0 match and score Ateneo’s only gold for the day.
The -90kg category quarterfinals seeded Ateneo’s Alfred Querubin against the University of the East’s (UE) Antonio Ramos, as well as Blue Eagle Limjap against Mike Lagmay from UP. Both Ateneans dominated the mat and guaranteed themselves spots in the semifinals, with Limjap winning handily at 4-0, and Querubin being awarded the ippon for a 3-0 finish.
The next round, however, would sing a different story as both Blue Eagles went down fighting. Limjap struggled against DLSU’s Ivan Oleta and fell to a 0-2 scoreline, while Querubin similarly went down in his semis at 0-2 against UST’s Renzo Cadenas. Although Querubin overcame his opponent in his bronze medal matchup against UST’s Mitchell Salcedo, Limjap missed the medal, falling to Leon Avendano from UP at 0-1 to settle for fifth place overall alongside UST’s Salcedo.
San Juan went down fighting in the first -100kg quarterfinals against Yiu Lee of UP, while Sadorra suffered the same fate against DLSU’s Keith Reyes in his quarterfinal match. San Juan made up for an earlier loss by stealing a victory in his repechage against UE’s Luis Benitez, but both Blue Eagles finished the day tied for seventh and last place on the -100kg tables.
Cadiente entered the fray as the solo Blue Eagle in the +100kg category, where he immediately booked a ticket to the finals after pinning UP’s Dillen Herrera to the floor for a win in the semis. Cadiente faced a much bigger problem in the finals, where a much larger foe in UST’s Dither Tablan stood in the way of the gold. Despite throwing Tablan to the floor to win an early 1-0 lead, Cadiente was forced to settle for the silver after falling victim to a flip from his opponent, who turned the tables to steal the gold in the nick of time.
Lady Eagles
Four Lady Eagles competed in two weight divisions on the first day of the tournament. Paula Rivera and Regale Guion starred in the -52kg category, while Alyssa Chan and Angelica Nibungco suited up in the -57kg category.
Rivera clashed with UP’s Charisse Aseneta in the first -52kg quarterfinal, but the Lady Eagle was handed the defeat at a 0-1 scoreline. Guion, on the other hand, survived a rally from UP’s Cherry Esperanza, outlasting the Lady Maroon to move past the quarters.
Rivera fought UST’s Rhodesa Bayas in the repechage, but the Lady Eagle suffered a 0-1 loss to end her day at eighth place overall. Guion was pitted against DLSU’s Charmea Querino and met a similar result, going down at 0-4. Guion then faced Bayas in the battle for the bronze medal, but Bayas looked too strong for Guion on the mat and earned UST the medal, which forced the Lady Eagle to settle for fifth place.
The Lady Eagles fared better in the -57kg division, where the women’s team tallied their only medal of the day. Nibungco met a bump in the road as well after losing to UST’s Almira Ruiz, then racking up a second loss after falling to UP’s Dianna Bargo in the repechage.
Chan shined bright for the Lady Eagles in the tournament’s opening, managing to reach the podium by the end of the day. Despite opening her run with a loss in the quarters against UST’s Debrah Devaras, Chan made up for the stumble with a win in the bronze medal match against DLSU’s Christine Valencia to give the Lady Eagles their sole award on Day 1.
The tournament resumes on Sunday, November 12 at the De La Salle Santiago Zobel School in Muntinlupa City for the UAAP Season 80 Judo tournament finale, as the men compete in the -55kg, -60kg, -66kg, and -73kg divisions, while the women compete in the -63kg, -70kg, -78kg, and +78kg divisions.
