THE ATENEO Men’s and Women’s Taekwondo teams kicked off their respective campaigns in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 82 Taekwondo Championships on Tuesday, October 15, 2019 at the Blue Eagle Gym, Quezon City.

Blue Eagles handle FEU, slip to NU and UE

The Blue Eagles finished the day with a record of 1-2. Lineup woes cost them as they had to automatically concede all flyweight division matches because they had no eligible jin on the roster. This caused them to enter each team-tie shackled by a 0-1 disadvantage.

Ateneo started out with a tough matchup against defending champion National University (NU) Bulldogs. NU showed that they were still the cream of the UAAP crop, quickly dispatching the Blue Eagles, 6-1. 

Blue Eagle Joebert Padilla started off slow and could not recover as NU drew first blood, 8-24. Reigning Rookie of the Year Harley Santos pulled off a resilient performance to win his bout, 29-18, after trailing 13-17 in the first round. However, this proved to be the lone win for Ateneo in the team-tie. NU dominated the remaining matches at the expense of Blue Eagles Paul Cham, Lionel Garcia, Rafael Cosca, and Thirdy Garcia to take the team-tie and and hand Ateneo its first defeat of the Championships.

Ineligibility in the flyweight division also crippled the Blue Eagles in their second team-tie against the University of the East (UE), falling 3-4 in the team-tie. Padilla fell into a 2-9 hole and eventually lost the match, 5-25, to put the Blue Eagles at a 0-2 deficit. Santos followed with yet another inspired performance, overcoming a leg injury on his way to a 25-21 victory to cut UE’s lead, 1-2. 

Cham redeemed his earlier loss by defeating his opponent in convincing fashion, 28-7, to tie up the score at two apiece. In the succeeding match, Garcia kept in step during the first round, trailing by only one point, but his opponent came out aggressively after the break to take the pivotal match, 4-14, and reclaim the lead at 3-2. UE clinched the team-tie, 2-4, in the following match after Cosca was dominated, 4-25. Garcia showed heart in the final match to win, 14-6, but his efforts could not salvage the overall result and prevent Ateneo from dropping to 0-2 for the season.

The Blue Eagles finally broke through in the win column at the expense of Far Eastern University (FEU). Padilla scored his first win of the tournament, 26-10, before Santos and Cham followed suit with commanding 32-11 and 18-10 wins, respectively. Holding on to a 3-1 lead, Ateneo slipped and allowed FEU back into the contest. Garcia and Cosca could not keep up with their FEU counterparts as they fell 4-14 and 4-25, respectively, setting up a do-or-die final match.

Thirdy Garcia stepped up to decide Ateneo’s fate and delivered. He entered the break with a slim 6-4 lead and turned on the jets to take the last match against FEU, 18-9, sealing Ateneo’s first team-tie win, 4-3.  

Lady Eagles leave the mats winless

The Lady Eagles had their work cut out for them facing last season’s gold and silver medalists, the University of Santo Tomas (UST) and NU. The squad fell to both opponents without picking up a single win in the team-tie scores, sinking them to an 0-2 record.

Ateneo’s Alexa Rabino took to the mats in the first bout against UST. After trailing by two points at the break, Rabino lost momentum and fell, 6-26. UST cruised to two more victories to earn a 3-0 team-tie lead after dispatching Elaine Peralta and Julienne Bermejo, 6-27 and 3-23, respectively.

UST clinched the team-tie in the fourth match. Winslet Rosel looked to stave off defeat for Ateneo, forcing a deadlock at the break. However, she failed to hold off her opponent and narrowly fell, 3-7. Fellow Lady Eagle Jenevive de Asis could not capitalize on a strong start and fell in the fifth match, 3-21. UST completed the sweep and dealt Ateneo its first loss of the season after hurdling Danielle Morales and Mikaela Tanto.

Next on the card for the Lady Eagles were defending champions NU. Like their male counterparts, their classed showed once again. Rabino showed poise throughout the first match, but fell, 2-7. NU recorded two more convincing wins against Peralta and Bermejo. Peralta mustered a solitary point in a 1-21 defeat, while Bermejo was flustered by NU’s approach, 3-23.

NU sealed their team-tie victory in the fourth match. Rosel put up a good fight, leading comfortably, 8-3, at the break, but NU changed its approach to good measure and took the win, 16-18. NU completed the sweep after Ateneo dropped its final three matches.

Games will resume for both the Men’s and Women’s teams on Thursday, October 16, 2019, at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.