THE ATENEO Blue Eagles capped off their UAAP Season 84 poomsae stint with straight 4th place finishes on May 31 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Despite failing to clinch any medal, the Blue Eagles were able to advance to the finals in the individual female, individual male, mixed pair, and team female divisions for the first time since the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81.
The Blue and White did not send any representatives for the Team Male division.
Individual Female
Elaine Borres took to the mats in the semi-finals round with the forms Taegeuk 7 and Shipjin, garnering a total average score of 7.730 to advance to the final round.
The rookie commenced her finals bid with Taebaek, where she snagged an 8.00. A score of 7.97 in her Koryo form then gave her a final average score of 7.985 and eventually put her in the fourth spot overall.
National University’s (NU) Laeia Soria bagged the gold medal with a total score of 8.470. Aidaine Laxa of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) took home silver with a score of 8.455, while De La Salle University’s (DLSU) Sofia Sarmiento settled for bronze after scoring 8.385.
Individual Male
Similar to Borres, national team member Joaquin Tuzon finally debuted for the Blue Eagles as he garnered a total average score of 7.980 in the Men’s semi-finals for performing Shipjin and Taegeuk 8. His showcase landed him fourth in the standings, which was enough to qualify for the finals.
Tuzon, the bronze medalist of last year’s Asian Taekwondo Poomsae Championships, tallied a total average of 8.150 in the finals as he once again placed fourth behind UST’s Vincent Rodriguez (8.370), NU’s Ceanne Rosquillo (8.508), and DLSU gold medalist Patrick Perez (8.550).
Mixed Pair
In the Mixed Pair semi-finals, Tuzon and Borres teamed up to create a formidable dynamic duo as both executed Koryo. This was followed up by Taebaek as they tallied a total average of 8.215, enough to book themselves a ticket to the final round.
To cap off their performance, the two performed Shipjin and Taegeuk 8, receiving a score of 8.380 which placed them at fourth yet again. NU’s pair of Rosquillo and Soria secured the third spot (8.555), while UST’s Macario and Carno narrowly edged out DLSU’s Perez and Regala for 1st place, 8.665 to 8.615.
Team Female
Meanwhile, the trio of Kristin Santos, Eirenne Lumasang, and Martina Ventura earned a total average score of 8.200 in the Team Female division’s semi-finals round. The Blue Eagles showcased their Shipjin and Taegeuk 7 performances en route to securing themselves a final round spot.
However, an average score of 8.180 in the final round put the Ateneo trio in fourth place, a sizable deficit from third placers DLSU’s 8.400.
Despite falling short of podium finishes, the team’s revamped roster—consisting mostly of rookies—showed signs of vast improvements in their UAAP bid.
“‘Yung quality of movements nila and how they usually play is higher than our usual,” said Coach Ardee Landrito about the level of skill displayed by the Blue Eagles.
Team Captain Kristin Santos also expressed her satisfaction with the team’s performances.
“Everyone was just trying to get back into the string of things, but we made it work. We started face-to-face training early, [around] mid-April. We were able to utilize that well and I think we did a pretty great job,” Santos stated.
While they may have fallen short of a podium finish, the Blue Eagles proved that the future is bright with their best overall performance in years. The Blue Eagles hope to finally bring home the medals in UAAP Season 85.
