AFTER A five-year hiatus, the Hajime Judo Tournament, hosted by the Ateneo Judo Association (AJA), made its comeback last June 10 to June 11. This year, AJA opened the competition to all judo teams across the country and had a total of 24 teams vying for a podium finish. All matches were held at the Blue Eagle Gym in the Ateneo de Manila University.

Representing Ateneo, the Blue Eagles and Blue Eaglets competed in the Senior’s Division of the tournament. To mention, Julia San Ramon emerged victorious in the Women’s +78 kg category, while Ryan De la Cruz triumphed in the Men’s -60 kg.

Day One

To start off the day, the men’s team fielded Stefan Pete Fabre and Nuel Sanchez to headline the -81 kg category. Meanwhile, five judokas from AJA’s women’s team competed on day one, namely Bea Sanchez in the -48 kg weight class, Alex Tendero in the -63 kg, Ronnie Nolido in the -57 kg, and Beatriz Palang and Janelle Panes in the -52 kg.

In the opening nine seconds, Fabre defeated his opponent from University of Cordilleras (UC) via a powerful Ippon. As a result of this impressive showing, the Atenean advanced to the quarterfinal match—where he automatically won by default due to a no-show by his supposed opponent from the University of the East (UE).

During the semifinals match, Fabre once again faced off against another judoka from UC. The match only lasted for 20 seconds, with the Atenean’s opponent taking full control and eventually claiming the match via an Ippon. Fabre’s last match on day one was for the bronze medal versus another opponent from UC. It was a tight bronze medal match as both contenders matched each other’s strength and skills. With the score level at one point apiece, Fabre decided to up his game and ultimately took the bronze with a decisive Ippon.

On the other hand, Sanchez has had his Hajime campaign abruptly cut short after losing to his UC foe in the opening match. Although Sanchez tried suppressing the opponent’s dominance, the judoka from UC still ended the match with a masterful Ippon.

AJA’s only competitor for the women’s -48 kg weight class was Bea Sanchez. Starting strong with a nine-second win through an Ippon in her first match, Sanchez headed straight to the semi-finals where she was pitted against her counterpart from the University of the Philippines (UP). Sanchez stood her ground against the Katipunan neighbor and even scored a waza-ari in the process. However, UP’s judoka’s excellent poise handed Sanchez her first loss via the Ippon.

In her final chance to earn a podium finish, Sanchez went against a contender from the Central Judo Club (CJC). Despite her strength and efforts, Sanchez got pinned by her opponent early on in the match. Although she was able to recover, the judoka from CJC never surrendered her control of the match to score a waza-ari and eventually, snatched the bronze with an Ippon.

AJA’S Alex Tendero then faced off with UE, where their representative got off to an aggressive start to the contest and gained an upper hand. Unfortunately, Tendero didn’t have time to gain her footing as her Red Warrior foe instantly took the match via an Ippon.

Ronnie Nolido represented AJA in the -57 kg weight class. In her first match, Nolido went against a judoka from De La Salle University (DLSU). Their bout exceeded the three-minute regulation time, with Nolido maintaining her defense against her Lasallian opponent’s sharp and quick attempts to eliminate her. Unfortunately, in the Golden Score portion, Nolido fell short in tipping the match to her favor as she succumbed to her DLSU counterpart’s emphatic Ippon.

Despite the loss, Nolido shook off the defeat immediately and proceeded to the repechage match where she was put against a judoka from Navotas Judo Club (NJC). It did not take long for Nolido to book a ticket to a bronze match, thanks to an Ippon that took down her opponent from NJC. In the battle for bronze, Nolido once again went up against another NJC judoka. The Atenean asserted dominance at the onset and clinched the bronze after 20 seconds with an Ippon.

AJA trotted off Beatriz Palang and Janelle Panes to compete in the -52 kg division. The former went straight to a quarter-final match against the Ippon Judo Club (IJC). Despite the IJC’s intimidating aggression, Palang refused to falter and took control midway through the match after recording a waza-ari. As the bout exhausted the regulation time of three minutes, Palang achieved her first win in the tournament with the score 1-0.

In the semifinals, Palang took to the mats with a representative from the University of Santo Tomas (UST). Palang failed to level with UST’s power and eventually bowed down to the opponent’s Ippon. However, in her final match, Palang was given a chance for redemption as she would once again battle with UST to vie for the bronze.

At the start of the bronze match, Palang was the first to score a waza-ari, 1-0. Despite getting pinned down a couple of times in the first few seconds, Palang persevered throughout the rest of the match until the end of regulation. As the whistle blew, Palang was declared the winner with the score 1-0, earning AJA’s third bronze of the day.

Similarly, Panes would also go as far as the bronze medal match in her Hajime campaign. Showing no hesitation in the quarter-final match against UC, she earned her first win via Waza-ari and headed straight to a semifinals bout against UE.

In that semifinals match, Panes was able to pin down her opponent early on in the match to give her an early edge. However, UE’s aggression spoiled the Ateneo fighter’s strong start, as Panes would get pinned down with 33 seconds remaining in the bout to give UE the victory with two Waza-aris.

In her last match of the day, Panes entered the mats with determination to bounce back from her previous defeat. She went toe-to-toe with the IJC for a chance at a bronze podium finish. After the IJC scored a waza-ari, 1-0, Panes would attempt to snag a come-from-behind win. Unfortunately for her, the IJC fighter mercilessly took the match with an Ippon and deprived Panes of a podium finish.

Podium finishers also include Robynn Alexa Gonzales, Maxine Mababangloob, and Alphonso Academia all secured a silver medal. Also notably, John Lorenz Mendoza completed Ateneo’s first day haul with a bronze-medal finish.

Day Two 

The second half of the Hajime Judo Tournament was a more action-packed day for AJA.

Other judokas who represented AJA’s men’s team in different weight divisions are the following: Miguel Jalit and Jose Mamaril (-55 kg); Eupurt Asayo,  John Falcon Dylim, Peter Estacio and Mendoza (-66 kg); Raphael Cruz and Aldwyn Thor (-73 kg); and Joaquin Baang (-90 kg).

Moreover, notable female contenders from AJA during the tournament’s day two consisted of Aleeyah  Tan (-57 kg) and Mababangloob (-78 kg). 

Repeating their successes in day two were Mababangloob and Gonzales, with the former grabbing silver and the latter claiming bronze. Adding to the medal haul of the Blue Eagles were Dylim and Thor, both of whom collected a silver and bronze medal in their own weight classes respectively.

Speaking about the event as a whole, day one gold medalist San Ramon said that her team’s preparations were all worth it in the end.

“I feel proud that we were able to hold a successful event where people from different teams and different regions were able to have fun, compete, and make friends. Even though I was super tired because of the event preparations and lacked sleep, I think I was still able to fight well because I was doing the thing I love most: Judo,” San Ramon mentioned in the culmination of her victory.

Editor’s Note: Joaquin Baang is a News Staffer of The GUIDON.