THE ATENEO Women’s Judo Team finished their campaign in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 82 Judo Championships on Saturday and Sunday, February 29 to March 1, 2020, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Gail Mereria won the only medal for the Lady Eagles with a silver finish in the -63 kg weight class.
Lady Eagles go home empty-handed after first day
The Ateneo Women’s Judo Team suffered a frustrating opening day. One Lady Eagle made it to the bronze medal match, but a podium finish proved to be elusive.
Making her UAAP debut in the -57 kg division, Elyssa Pua opened the season with a loss against Angelica Gutang from the University of Santo Tomas (UST). In the repechage, the loser’s bracket of the tournament, she succumbed to a second waza-ari from University of the Philippines’ (UP) Jenny Verano. The loss eliminated her from a podium finish.
Shannen Lao stepped up for the Blue and White in the -44 kg weight class. She lost to her De La Salle University (DLSU) counterpart via ippon and fell to the repechage. In her second match of the day, an ippon from UP’s Mary Ruado kept her out of medal contention.
Roni Lapuz represented Ateneo in the -52 kg division, but a second waza-ari from UST’s Faika Asilum caused Lapuz’ defeat. An injury forced Lapuz to forfeit in the repechage, keeping the Lady Eagles winless in the tournament.
Fellow -52 division representative Cathy Lim dispatched DLSU’s Jasmaine Ching and advanced to the semi-finals. In the succeeding match, Lim fell to a late ippon from UST. She battled UP’s Cherry Esperanza for the bronze, but a second waza-ari from Esperanza took away a place on the podium.
Guppy Miral took the mats next in the -57 kg division. She put up a valiant fight against UP’s Gabrielle Padilla but got pinned down and was forced to submit. In the repechage, she succumbed to a quick ippon from DLSU’s Giselle Ferrater.
Julia Antonio lined up in the -44 kg division. She was forced into submission to UST in her opening match before a well-executed throw from UP’s Bea Aquino forced her to bow out without a medal.
Lady Eagles bag a silver medal to end UAAP Season 82
On the final day of the UAAP Season 82 Judo Championships, the Lady Eagles bagged their only medal in the tournament—a silver medal courtesy of team captain Mereria.
Fighting in the -63 kg weight class, Mereria emerged victorious in a close bout with University of the East’s (UE) Veneza Dayao. In the semi-final, she pounced on three errors from DLSU’s Yvonne Aragon to seal a finals berth and podium finish.
In the -70 kg weight division, Blu Garcia looked to build on a good start from Mereria. She was defeated by two waza-aris from UST’s Krizza Amisola but showed composure in the repechage against UE’s Dianne Aquino to qualify for the bronze medal match.
Competing in the -78 kg division, Kat Salita dropped her first match via ippon to DLSU’s Marisela Turro. A second waza-ari from UST’s April Lua in the repechage match would eliminate Salita from medal contention.
In the -63 kg division, Joy Sacluti was defeated via ippon by UE’s Veneze Dayao. She bowed out of a podium finish in the repechage, following a second waza-ari from UP’s Micah Fernandez.
The medal matches took place at the end of the day. Garcia took to the mats for the bronze medal against La Salle’s April Guidangen. The DLSU judoka was all business as she took just 10 seconds to score an ippon and bag the bronze medal.
Mereria returned to the mats for a shot at the gold medal in the -63 kg division against Dayao. The match was tightly contested as time expired on the two judokas. However, a single waza-ari scored by Dayao in the early portions of the match won her the gold medal.
