ATENEO TAEKWONDO notched a pair of team-tie victories on the final day of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 82 Taekwondo Championships on Friday, October 18, at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.

The Lady Eagles ended the tournament with a 1-5 record, defeating the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors to start the day, followed by a tight loss against the Far Eastern University (FEU) Lady Tamaraws. The Blue Eagles, on the other hand, concluded UAAP Season 82 with a 2-4 record. They stumbled against the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers in their opening team-tie of the day but triumphed against the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons in the ensuing team-tie.

Blue Eagles go 1-1 in final day of the tournament

Ateneo started their day against the Green Archers. Coming into the final day of the tournament with a 1-3 overall record, the Blue Eagles aimed to notch their second win of the season. However, this did not go as planned, as the Blue and White bowed out to DLSU with a team-tie score of 1-6. 

Joebert Padilla opened the match, and despite leading 8-4 in the first, he succumbed to a 18-20 scoreline once the match ended. In the second match, Ateneo could not field in a player, thus forfeiting the match with DLSU taking a 2-0 lead against the Blue Eagles. In the third match, Ateneo’s Harley Santos failed to surpass his DLSU counterpart and was grounded, 16-21, plunging Ateneo into a 0-3 team-tie hole.

Paul Cham was the lone bright spot for the Blue and White in their battle against DLSU. Cham emerged victorious after two rounds in a low-scoring contest, 7-5, in the fourth match. Unable to follow-up on Cham’s success, Leonell Garcia was shot-down by his DLSU counterpart, 5-13, dragging Ateneo to a 1-4 team-tie deficit. 

The sixth and seventh matches were handled by Rafael Cosca and Miguel Garcia III, respectively. These bore similar fruit as both Cosca and Garcia III were dealt with losses from DLSU. Cosca was defeated due to the 20-point rule, losing by 25, 4-29, in the sixth match, while Garcia III was taken down, 7-23, in the final match against DLSU. 

The Blue Eagles then faced-off against the Fighting Maroons, winning the team-tie with a tight score of 4-3. Padilla opened the first match against UP with a stunning 20-5 win. The second match was inevitably forfeited once again due to the Ateneo’s inability to field in a player for the match, thus tying the team-tie at 1-1. In the third match, Santos continued Padilla’s success versus UP, dominating his opponent via the 20-point rule, 26-6. Cham was up next for the Blue and White, and he too notched a victory for the Ateneo as his opponent incurred the maximum number of penalties possible in the fourth match, bringing Ateneo to a 3-1 team-tie lead. 

Despite incredible performances in matches one, three, and four, the Blue Eagles bowed to UP in the fifth and sixth. Leonell Garcia struggled in his final match of the season as he came up short against his opponent, 12-19. Ateneo’s Rafael Cosca was also hounded by his UP counterpart, as Cosca with a loss via the 20-point rule, recording only two points in the 2-22 losing effort. Cosca’s loss brought the team-tie to a 3-3 stalemate.

The seventh and final battle of the season was handled by Miguel Garcia III. Garcia III opened his bout trailing perilously by one, with a score of 4-5 in the first round. The second round proved to be a tense and exhilarating affair. Neither Garcia III nor his opponent was able to build a substantial lead in the second round, with the score constantly shifting in favor of one player or the other. Eventually, Garcia III stole the match with a final score of 13-11, thus bringing the Ateneo to a 4-3 team-tie win. The victory increased the Ateneo Men’s Taekwondo Team’s standing in the win column of the tournament by one, thus finishing the UAAP Season 82 Men’s Taekwondo Tournament at an overall standing of 2-4—good for fifth place.

For excellent performance in the tournament, UAAP Season 81 Rookie of the Year Harley Santos was awarded a silver medal in the bantamweight division. Veteran Paul Cham also added another medal to his collection, notching bronze in the featherweight division. 

Lady Eagles have mixed results in final day

The Lady Eagles captured the elusive team-tie win on the final day of the tournament at the expense of the Lady Warriors. Behind strong performances from Alex Rabino, Julienne Bermejo, Winslet Rosel, Jenevieve de Asis, and Denise Morales, the Lady Eagles ran away with the 5-2 victory.

However, they were later defeated, 3-4, by the Lady Tamaraws. It was a heartbreaker of a loss as the battle against the Lady Tamaraws came down to the wire. Rabino, Rosel and de Asis, each outclassed their FEU counterparts, winning the first, fourth, and fifth matches, respectively, for the Blue and White. 

Elaine Peralta lost Ateneo’s first match against FEU, scoring just 11 points versus the 31 scored by her opponent. FEU then took the 2-1 team-tie lead following their 12-13  defeat of Ateneo’s Julienne Bermejo in the third match. Danielle Morales also faltered against her opponent in the sixth match of the evening, 3-8. In the seventh and final match of UAAP Season 82, Mika Tan was the final hope for the Lady Eagles to pull-off the team-tie victory. However, Tan could not overcome her FEU counterpart, as she was taken down in a lopsided 1-13 battle.

The loss clinched the Lady Eagles’ sixth-place finish in the UAAP Season 82 Women’s Taekwondo Tournament with an overall standing of 1-5. Jennevive de Asis took home a bronze medal in the lightweight division as the lone medalist for the Lady Eagles.

The loss clinched the Lady Eagles’ sixth-place finish in the UAAP Season 82 Women’s Taekwondo Tournament with an overall standing of 1-5. Jennevive de Asis took home a bronze medal in the lightweight division as the lone medalist for the Lady Eagles.