December 14 matches
THE ATENEO Blue Eagles failed to secure a win in the first day of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 Men’s Taekwondo Tournament. The matches were held yesterday, December 14, at the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.
The Blue Eagles began the tournament against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers. Despite the aggressiveness from Joebert Padilla in the second match, the Blue and White bowed to UST, 0-5.
[Second Match]
— Lei Macaranas (@Lei_TheGUIDON) December 14, 2022
Joebert Padilla loses the second match, 15-20 to UST, after an adrenaline-filled second round. @TheGUIDONSports #UAAPTaekwondo pic.twitter.com/gVBuKO1Ekc
Hoping to gain momentum, the Blue Eagles entered their second match against the National University (NU) Bulldogs. However, the offensive strategies from Julius Bautista in the fourth match were not enough for the Katipunan-based squad as they fell short to NU, 0-5.
[Fourth Match]
— Lei Macaranas (@Lei_TheGUIDON) December 14, 2022
Julius Bautista loses the fourth match to NU, 2-5, after two action packed rounds.
ADMU 4 NU 0@TheGUIDONSports #UAAPTaekwondo pic.twitter.com/hJhlHnY2F2
Ateneo faced the Far Eastern University (FEU) in their last match for the day. Unable to secure a win against FEU, the Blue Eagles conceded to the Tamaraws, 0-7.
The team finished at 0-3 at the end of the first day.
December 15 matches
IN THE following day, the Ateneo Blue Eagles also fell short on their final outing for the UAAP Season 85 Men’s Taekwondo Tournament. Their final matches were held earlier today at the Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City.
Aiming to secure their first win, the Blue and White faced their archrivals, the DLSU Green Archers. Angelo Santiago’s dominant performance finally gave Ateneo some good news as he notched a win in the first match. However, despite the efforts of his teammates Padilla, CJ Arnaez, Bautista, and Antonio Calilung, the Blue Eagles were unsuccessful in securing the next five matches, ultimately falling 1-6 to DLSU.
[First Match]
— Tristan A. Abuel (@Istan_TheGUIDON) December 15, 2022
In a tightly-contested first match, Angelo Santiago triumphs over his DLSU Counterpart, 2-0. The latter part of the match become more physical as both players are trying to one-up each other.
Ateneo 1 DLSU 0#UAAPTaekwondo @TheGUIDONSports pic.twitter.com/oqQgcdnlx8
In their second game, the Blue Eagles faced their Katipunan neighbors, the UP Fighting Maroons. Santiago continued his aggressive offense, yet failed to convert a win from the first match, 1-7, 5-8. Despite inching close to his opponent in the second round, 4-6, Padilla faltered in the second match. Meanwhile, Arnaez, Bautista, and Calilung were unable to manage UP’s offensive strategies in the next four matches, bowing to the Fighting Maroons, 0-7.
[Second Match]
— Tristan A. Abuel (@Istan_TheGUIDON) December 15, 2022
After going scoreless in the first round, Joebert Padilla performs better in the next round. However Padilla concedes both round, 0-4, 4-6. With the lost, Ateneo concedes the team-tie score to UP.
Ateneo 0 UP 3#UAAPTaekwondo @TheGUIDONSports
Securing only one match against DLSU today, the Blue Eagles concluded their Kyorugi campaign with a 0-5 win-loss record that put them in overall sixth place for the tournament.
Despite falling short of a podium finish, Team Captain Padilla will come back for another year in hopes of rebuilding a stronger system with his squad.
“Ayusin yung system namin, kasi parang may kulang eh, parang marami pa kaming pwedeng improvement na gawin. So yun, magpapalakas kami ([We need to] fix our system because there are lapses, there’s still a lot that we can improve on. We’ll come back stronger),” Padilla shared.
The veteran hopes that the team will be more determined next season in achieving their ultimate goal. “No absent sa training. Kailangan everyday nasa S&C [strength and conditioning]. Yun, focus lang sa goal (No one should be absent in training. Everyday everyone should be in S&C. That’s it. Just focus on the goal), Padilla adds.
