COMMENCING THE tournament with four medals under their belt, the Ateneo Men’s and Women’s Judo Teams concluded their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 86 campaign on a stellar note. The matches were held yesterday at the Marikina Sports Complex.

Wrapping up the two-day meet, the Blue Eagles collated four merits with one gold, one silver, and two bronze medals. These were courtesy of Maxine Mababangloob (-78kg), Julliana San Ramon (+78kg), Geoff Apostol (-66kg) and Aldwyn Thor (-73kg), respectively.

On their final day, the Ateneo Women’s Judo Team stood tall on the podium as the second runner-up with one gold and three silver medalists, improving from their fourth-place finish last season. On the other hand, the Ateneo Men’s Judo Team retained their spot as the fourth overall placer, after being awarded four bronze medals.

Women’s -63kg division

First to bow on the tatami mat was Alexandra Tendero against De La Salle University’s (DLSU) Yvonne Aragon. The match faced numerous mates as both competitors displayed strategic fronts, ultimately ending in the Atenean judoka’s submission to Aragon after gaining an Ippon on a lock. Still contending for a bronze medal, Tendero settled on a fourth-place finish after a University of the East (UE) judoka’s ippon.

Women’s -70kg division

Looking to establish her prowess on the mat, Estella Calica failed to notch a point after University of Santo Tomas’ (UST) Jeniva Consigna claimed an ippon through a throw and a 10-second pin down on Calica. Yearning to bounce back in the repechage round, a foe from the University of the Philippines (UP) refused Calica of contention for a bronze medal via ippon.

Women’s -78kg division

Co-captain Mababangloob restricted opponent Lea Quimba of UST to the mats in barely 10 seconds. With the Atenean’s aggressive approach, she swept Quimba on an ippon osoto makikomi. Her semifinal match also concluded quickly, grabbing the upper hand with an ippon against UP’s Pag-Ibig De Villa in 16 seconds.

In a similar fashion, Mababangloob faced UST’s Jeanmae Lobo in a tight match for a gold medal. Despite being thrown on her side to credit Lobo a waza-ari, the Blue Eagle mustered an inner leg sweep slam followed by a 10-second submission, bringing home a glamorous gold medal to Katipunan.

Women’s +78kg division

Epilogizing the Women’s events in a round-robin format, San Ramon represented the Blue Eagles and clinched a 3-1 record. The judoka bested DLSU’s Rosalinda Sze, as well as UST’s April Lua and Kathleen Ferriols via submission in a ground-and-pound affair. San Ramon conceded only to UP’s Stephanie Fetalver after the latter granted the Blue Eagle back-to-back slams on the tatami, awarding San Ramon the silver merit.

Men’s -55kg division

Over on the Men’s encounters, Peter Estacio missed out podium contention after getting locked by UST’s Janry Pamor, denoting an ippon. Seeing a synonymous fate, Eupert Asayo contested against UP’s Hye Lee. Showcasing offensive strategies throughout the four-minute duel, restraining joint locks by Asayo’s Katipunan counterpart instead re-routed him to the battle for bronze.

Defying DLSU’s judoka to seal the third podium finish, Asayo’s tactical lunges did not convert points, hapless as he gained penalties while exhausting the time limit. Occurring in the golden score knockout match, a final yellow card on the Atenean judoka allowed DLSU to nab the bronze medal.

Men’s -60kg division

Two Blue Eagles in the Men’s -60kg division, with Team Captain Elijah Claravall first taking a defensive stance in his clash against UST’s Nick Ligero. Despite his valiant efforts, Claravall’s advances bore no fruit, surrendering to Ligero’s pound towards the mat to enter the repechage bracket. Testifying against a DLSU opponent, Claravall was denied with two penalties and a back-landing put-over, consequently keeping him out of bronze contention.

Elsewhere, Ryan Dela Cruz also fell over on a slam and joint lock against UP’s Benedict Macale, rerouting him to the repechage round. With revitalized vigor, Dela Cruz sustained a 20-second pin to the mat on a DLSU competitor, joining the bronze medal hunt with only a UST counterpart blocking his way to the podium. In a turn of events, an immediate ippon for the UST judoka left Dela Cruz on the receiving end of a loss, securing the fourth spot.

Men’s -66kg division

Batting over to the next weight class, Keoni Dylim went up against UST’s Troy Estrella. Both athletes sprung out into action, but a quick-witted joint submission by Estrella resulted in a tap-out ippon to deny Dylim an opening win. Participating in the repechage, Dylim succumbed to defeat despite an extended match, falling to the hands of his DLSU adversary.

On the other hand, Geoff Apostol exemplified masterful denials against UP’s Randy Ferrera. Following two throwaways to the mat, a fulfilled ippon had Apostol qualify for the semifinals with UST’s Ryan Benavidez as his matchup. Battling for a spot in the gold medal match, an early tap out by the Blue Eagle whisked away his chances, dropping him to the bronze medal bout. Fueled by his previous duel, Apostol forced an early flat-back throw on DLSU’s Axel Allan to impressively bag a bronze merit.

Men’s -73kg division

Capping off the two-day tournament, Lorenzo Mendoza demonstrated a desire for a podium finish, clutching his first match against DLSU’s John Hernandez on a waza-ari. Looking to carry on his momentum into the semifinals, Mendoza was caught off-guard, suffering from UP Fierre Afan’s throw, and could not get out of a 10-second lock. As a result of his loss in the semis, Mendoza found himself dueling with teammate Aldwyn Thor for the bronze.

Finally, Thor surfaced the tatami with calculated movements but was unlucky to collect penalties for discontinued slams on UP’s Edward Figueroa. Consequently, A third penalty caused Thor the match, enabling his face-off against Mendoza. In a battle of Blue Eagles, Thor and Mendoza competed for a bronze to take back to Loyola Heights. Coming off a penalty-prone match, Thor persevered, summating an ippon from two throwovers on Mendoza.

Ending their campaign on a high note, Women’s Team Co-captain Mababangloob parted her sentiments on her gold medal finish and an overall third podium finish.

“I guess this gold medal really is for my team because I really wouldn’t have gotten here if it weren’t for them, for my training partners, for everyone that attended training, everyone that showed up, and everyone that spent all their time in training despite the injuries, despite the blood, sweat, and tears that we put into it. So, this medal really isn’t just for me—it’s for my entire team,” disclosed Mababangloob.

​​Editor’s Note: Maxine Mababangloob is a Human Resources Staffer of The GUIDON.