THE ATENEO Judo Association (AJA) amassed a total of four golds, two silvers, and four bronzes in the first edition of the Philippine Ultimate Judo Championship (PUJC). The event was held last Sunday, September 10, at the Philippine Army Gymnasium in the City of Taguig.

Among all categories in the Senior’s Division, AJA’s -66kg Half Lightweight Category judokas produced the most medals with a total of three, coming from team captain Elijah Claravall’s gold, Lorenz Mendoza bagging silver, and Keoni Dylim clinching bronze.

Senior’s Division, -66kg Half Lightweight Category

Claravall breezed through the -66kg category, dispatching the University of the Philippines Judo Club’s (UPJC) Mark Dalupang in the first round with waza-aris and an Ippon Seoi nage finisher. The AJA captain followed this up with an eight-second Ippon win over Antipolo Judo Club’s (ANJ) John Derek Cayabyab en route to the quarterfinals. This round saw him intimidate University of Mindanao Judo’s (UMJ) Bernabe Among into a non-combative disqualification.

The semifinals and finals were both all-AJA affairs, as Claravall faced off against Dylim and Mendoza, respectively. Claravall continued to display his judo mastery in both rounds as he scored Ippon wins against his Blue Eagle teammates on the way to gold.

On his path to silver, Mendoza overcame Cainta Stanley Judo’s (CSJ) John Nadua via a Tani Otoshi in the first round and ANJ Masters Brown Belter Kerrer Abellana through a Seoi nage waz-ari in the second round. The Blue Eagle judoka followed through with wins against Ippu Judo’s (IPJ) Malaysian Yellow Belt Wong Xing Yoong via a Tani Otoshi maneuver in the quarterfinals and UPJC Brown Belter Charles Sarmiento with a Seoi nage with the clock running out in the semifinals.

Dylim’s journey to bronze came with wins over Malaya of Valenzuela Judo Club (VJC) and Serrano of UPJC after eventually bowing to Claravall in the semis via the Tai otoshi pin. The Ateneo judoka took down University of Santo Tomas’ (UST) Sotto for bronze, scoring two waza-aris with a Seoi nage and a Kosoto gari.

Senior’s Division, -60kg Extra Lightweight Category

Under the -60kg category, AJA’s Ryan Dela Cruz won in the first round against La Salle Judo (LSJ) but eventually lost in the quarterfinal matchup against UST. In the repechage round, the Ateneo judoka fell to Mark Daniel Togonon of UPJC, as he conceded via a Tomoe nage Ippon.

Meanwhile, Eupert Asayo suffered a first-round defeat at the hands of LSJ’s Evan Jim Donaire in an Ippon, cutting short his PUJC tournament run.

Senior’s Division, -73kg Lightweight Category

In the lightweight class, Aldwyn Thor beat LSJ’s Axel Allan in the first round matchup, leading to the quarterfinals which saw him lose to Carl Almeyda of ANJ. Thor immediately recovered with a win over Kenner Indanan of the Zamboanga Judo Club in the repechage and ultimately finished bronze as he powered through UST’s Jeormil Caguicla. Ralf Cruz, Thor’s lightweight teammate, ended his tournament early with a first-round defeat to Ramz Sasi of UST.

Senior’s Division, -81kg Half Middleweight Category

In the -81kg category, Kazuki Domoto overpowered his opponents en route to a flawless 4-0 run for the gold. Domoto scored commanding Ippon wins against judokas from Ultimate Judo Fighters (UJF) and LSJ in the preliminary rounds. The AJA half middleweight finished the job in the finals, wherein he once again dominated the mat with two waza-ari pins amounting to an Ippon against VJC’s Mark Paolo Sayson.

On the other side of the -81kg bracket, Arhann Rodil kicked off his PUJC campaign with an Ippon against Earl Paolo Bay of UST. In the second round, Rodil proceeded with another triumphant Ippon versus UJF’s Alexis Maglangit before eventually losing to Sayson on an Ippon throw Sode-tsurikomi-goshi. The AJA co-captain redeemed himself in the bronze medal match as he beat UST’s Paolo Oliquino via an Osoto-gari Ippon.

Men’s Captain Claravall noted how things are shaping up for the men’s team after this tournament’s performance, and claims that the squad is just getting started in their lead-up to the UAAP season.

The veteran judoka said that the new recruits showed a lot of potential, as they played their hearts out despite being new members of the team. “The up-and-coming members have shown their hearts out and the Ateneo spirit of Magis throughout their respective matches, and that is already a win in my book,” added Claravall.

Women’s Division

In the women’s category, Yzabelle Claravall captured the lone medal for AJA as she won bronze in the -52kg half-lightweight category. The women’s captain lost her first match to VJC’s Annika Venice Caminero, but immediately bounced back with back-to-back victories against teammate Janelle Faye Panes in her second match and University of the East (UE)’s Sweet Goddess Trillo during the bronze medal bout.

On the contrary, Panes won her initial match against UE judoka Alexza Louisse Gatdula but suffered consecutive defeats at the hands of LSJ’s Amber Arcilla and Claravall to miss out on a medal. Their other -52kg teammate, Janelle Maxene Runes, failed to grab a win as she stumbled against UE’s Trillo in the first match and UPJC’s Ayessa Allen Baloy in the second round.

AJA’s lone -48kg bet, Janielle Bea Sanchez, tallied a first-round win against UE rival Janelle Pagalan but failed to follow up in the second-round matchup versus Rhieshelley Rivero of LSJ. The Atenean extra lightweight fell to another Lasallian, Hannah Mira, in the bronze medal match.

In the half middleweight category, Aleeyah Francine Tan faltered against Veneza Dayao of UE in the first round. Tan then fell short of the bronze medal after losing her second consecutive match, this time against LSJ’s Yvonne Aragon.

Meanwhile, Alexandra Nikola Tendero, AJA’s bet for the -57kg lightweight category, suffered the same fate as she conceded to Shekina Benavidez of UST and Jhen Obeja of UE.

“All of our competitors showed how much they have progressed over the past months of training, I am very proud of them despite the hindrances they had come across leading up to this moment,” said Yzabelle Claravall.

For the younger Claravall, the team’s performance in the tournament is by no means demoralizing for them. “I saw how determined and goal-driven they were during training and I see them picking up where they left off even after this competition, the road to gold is just getting started,” she added.

Master’s Divison

AJA also participated in the master’s division, where they bagged two golds and one silver. Coach Ali Sulit earned the -100kg, 45-49 year-old age category title after beating lone challenger Fukushima Takanobu of Azumakendai in a best-of-three bout, 2-1. Ateneo alumni Nash Bangui also triumphed in the -81kg, 30-34 age class outclassing UPJC’s Carlo Montecillo, 3-0, while Martel Agustin settled for silver after finishing with a 1-1 record in the +100kg, 30-34 year-old category.

Ateneo Judo Program Head and AJA Head Coach Sulit highlights leadership by example as one of his coaching principles. “I fought to show my athletes how to fight with focus and with courage, undeterred, unrelenting,” said Sulit.

The team looks to build on their PUJC performance as they prepare for the upcoming UAAP Judo Tournament which will be held later this year.