THE ATENEO Blue Eagles closed their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 Women’s Taekwondo Tournament run in sixth place. The team amassed three losses on the final day of the tournament, finishing their campaign with an overall win-loss record of 0-5. The matches were held yesterday, December 15, at the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.
Matches versus University of Santo Tomas
The Blue Eagles absorbed five consecutive beatdowns from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tiger Jins in the opening matches.
Struggling to land kicks on her opponent, Team Captain Eirenne Lumasang bowed out of the first match, giving the first team-tie to UST. Her teammate Keir Atendido snagged one point against her foe but ultimately failed to reclaim round two, 1-5.
Shortly after, James Macasaet clinched a victory in the third match. However, Macasaet’s efforts to dethrone her opponent were unsuccessful in the last seconds of her next and final round, as she was overpowered by her España-counterpart, 2-3.
[Third Match]
— Juno Reyes (@Juno_TheGUIDON) December 15, 2022
James Macasaet reclaims round two after a close 2-3 round one run! The match will now go into its third round. #UAAPTaekwondo @TheGUIDONSports pic.twitter.com/4xl0GIZWCS
After two close matches, rookie Kenshin Bonos dropped both rounds to give UST its fourth team-tie point. In the fifth match, Camille Samson was ultimately swept by her opponent in both rounds. Submitting back-to-back landslide scores of 12-0 and 13-0 and handing their rival an easy team-tie victory, Ateneo succumbed to UST, 0-7.
Matches versus Far Eastern University
In their second team-tie match against the Far Eastern University (FEU), Lumasang requited her early loss. Slamming into her opponent’s cheek with a sharp three-point kick, Lumasang fiercely fended off FEU’s jin to claim the first match.
[First Match]
— Juno Reyes (@Juno_TheGUIDON) December 15, 2022
Eirenne Lumasang claims the first match vs. FEU, 6-1, 2-2! Although the second round ended in a tie, the judges eventually decided to award the point to Lumasang.
Ateneo 1 FEU 0#UAAPTaekwondo@TheGUIDONSports pic.twitter.com/590A2bWyrP
However, the second round ended in favor of FEU, as Atendido’s head kick came just seconds after the time. Macasaet avenged her teammate in the following match, plummeting her opponent to the ground as her half-moon kick crashed on her rival’s forehead.
[Third Match]
— Juno Reyes (@Juno_TheGUIDON) December 15, 2022
An impressive half-moon kick brings Macasaet’s round-two score to 5-2! The Blue Eagle clinches Ateneo’s second team-tie point against FEU.
Team Tie Score: Ateneo 2 FEU 1#UAAPTaekwondo@TheGUIDONSports pic.twitter.com/mtengT9dhq
Despite her aggressive forward pressure in the fourth match, Ateneo’s Bonos was unable to shake off her foe for the third team-tie point, falling 5-0. FEU was then awarded two team-tie points, as per the Blue and White’s shortage of players in the Lightweight and Welterweight classes.
While Samson settled the score in the second round of the fifth bout, FEU’s relentless display of head and body kicks stripped Ateneo of its last chance at a team-tie point. The match ended 2-5 overall in favor of FEU.
Matches versus University of the Philippines
Blue Eagle Lumasang then kicked off the Battle of Katipunan with a resounding win over the University of the Philippines (UP) Lady Maroons. Although she dropped the first round by a small margin, masterful blows to her UP foe’s head and torso in rounds two and three leveraged her performance to give Ateneo its first team-tie point.
[First Match]
— Juno Reyes (@Juno_TheGUIDON) December 15, 2022
Blue Eagle Eirenne Lumasang forces a decider third round to clinch Ateneo’s first team-tie point vs. UP!
Team Tie Score: Ateneo 1 UP 0#UAAPTaekwondo @TheGUIDONSports pic.twitter.com/hRD7WIxVI7
Atendido suffered a 10-point deficit in round one. Despite gaining four hard-earned points in the second round, she was unsuccessful in staving off her adversary, 1-1.
After a grindingly close first-round loss, Ateneo’s Macasaet forced a third round upon hurling consecutive kicks to the head, claiming victory in the second round, 9-4. Incurring a penalty in the deciding round, Macasaet dropped the match as her opponent was awarded an extra point.
[Third Match]
— Juno Reyes (@Juno_TheGUIDON) December 15, 2022
James Macasaet forces a decider third round after attacking her opponent with consecutive head kicks in round two, 9-4! #UAAPTaekwondo@TheGUIDONSports pic.twitter.com/5sBPu3NE0i
Struggling to score with her techniques in the fourth match, Bonos lost two consecutive rounds, with scores of 0-1 and 1-6, respectively. In the last match, Samson was unable to parry consecutive kicks to her head by her Lady Maroon opponent, bringing the team-tie score to 1-6 in favor of UP.
Despite the team’s consecutive defeats at the hands of their strong opponents, Lumasang still managed to bag a bronze medal for her individual matchup wins in the fin weight division against De La Salle University, FEU, and UP.
“Actually, I really did not expect the game that I had earlier because I already have an injury prior to the competition,” said Lumasang.
“And almost all the players who are competing here, nakakalaban ko na sila sa mga grassroots programs like Batang Pinoy and Palarong Pambansa (And almost all the players who are competing here, I’ve already fought against them in grassroots programs like Batang Pinoy and Palarong Pambansa). I feel overwhelmed but at the same time, I know there’s more to improve pa. I could do better next time,” the Team Captain continued.
Head Coach Elmer Rafael also expressed satisfaction with the team’s showings, given that the Atenean jins were competing in the UAAP stage for the first time.
“Since medyo late na kami nakapag-start ng face-to-face training, para sa’kin, nag-improve sila from the national games na pinuntahan namin before.”
(Since we started face-to-face training quite late, for me, they improved from the national games we joined before.)
Additionally, Coach Rafael shared that the Blue Eagles quickly had to adapt to the UAAP’s new taekwondo competition rules, which they were only able to experience the day before the major collegiate tournament.
“Mas magiging magaling pa sila next year since magkakaroon kami ng enough time to practice. Compared sa mga nakalaban namin na puro halos veterans from 2017, ang laki talaga ng nilakas nila at pinalag nila, na almost dumidikit na kami,” he added.
(They will get even better next year since we are going to have enough time to practice. Compared to our opponents who consist almost entirely of veterans from 2017, the team grew tremendously stronger and reacted well to their opponents, up to the point that they almost caught up to them),” continued Rafael.
The head coach also hopes to bring in new players next season to remedy Ateneo’s weight class disadvantage that hindered the team from finishing on the podium.
