AFTER THE Poomsae events kicked off the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 Taekwondo Championships, the Ateneo Blue and Lady Eagles walked home without a medal to their name on Tuesday, November 6 in the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.
Ever since Season 76, Poomsae has remained a standard tournament in the UAAP wherein jins can showcase their offensive and defensive forms. To reach the medal stages, participants must make it to the top four of the semi-final round in order to contend for a medal in the finals.
Individual Poomsae
Justin Mendoza bannered Ateneo, garnering a score of 7.485 to tie with the University of the Philippines’ (UP) Jayboy Buenavista for sixth. Mendoza missed the top four and did not proceed to the final round wherein De La Salle University’s (DLSU) Patrick King Perez took the gold with a decisive 8.305 total score.
In the women’s division, Stephanie Pagtaconan took to the mats for the Lady Eagles. Pagtaconan’s averaged 7.215, ranking sixth in the semis. In the end, it was DLSU powerhouse Rinna Babanto who clinched the gold with a score of 8.180.
Pairs Poomsae
The next event in the Poomsae was the mixed pairs which saw the highly-anticipated return of veteran Aaron Agojo who suited up with Kristin Santos. The duo racked up 7.560 points for their Taebaek form and 7.77 for their Koryo performance. Agojo and Santos’ total average of 7.665 did not merit the pair a berth in the medal rounds.
Team Poomsae
In the Team Poomsae, the Blue and White was represented by Patricia Abalos, Santos, and Pagtaconan. The trio scored 7.46 in their Sipjin and 7.47 in their Pyongwon for an average of 7.465 in the semis, however, the effort was not enough to send them to the final round.
Capping the day off was Agojo and Mendoza, this time joined by Noy Garcia. The squad first garnered a 7.37 in the first Poomsae and followed it up with a 6.97 in the second effort after a few brief mistakes by Garcia.
At the end of the first day of the tourney, both teams conclude the poomsae events without a medal.
