THE ATENEO Judo Association (AJA) wrapped up their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 campaign, banking three medals on the last day of the tournament. The matches were held earlier today, April 12, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in the City of Manila.
Across two weight divisions, the Men’s Team claimed one silver and two bronze medals courtesy of Keoni Dylim, Trev Apostol, and Eric Rodriguez, respectively. Overall, the Blue Eagles collected six accolades across two days of competition, securing their spot on the podium with a bronze finish.
On the other hand, the Women’s Team failed to collect any medals in today’s fixtures. As a result, the Blue and White judokas accumulated two pieces of metal hardware solely from the opening day of the tournament.
Men’s -55kg division
Atenean judoka Hans Jordan participated in Pool D of the first round against De La Salle University’s (DLSU) Jason Palmes. In the exchange, the Green Judoka delivered a masterful throw to earn an ippon, thus eliminating Jordan from advancing further in the tournament.
To avenge his co-judoka, Rodriguez faced Ralph Suarez from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) in a quarterfinal bout. The Tiger Judoka attempted a headlock on Rodriguez, but the Atenean judoka successfully broke free from his grip. The Blue Eagle resorted to aggressive grappling, yet still fell short of making successful attempts.
Exhausting minutes on the clock, the Gold and Black judoka managed to gain a waza-ari to Rodriguez’s disadvantage. However, with 36 seconds left in the contest, Suarez accumulated three yellow cards to result in a red card, allowing the Blue and White athlete to advance into the semifinals.
The Season 87 bronze medalist was set to face University of the Philippines (UP)’s Hye Jun Lee for a chance to enter the gold medal match. Throughout the exchange, Rodriguez outmaneuvered Lee’s throw attempts until the Fighting Maroon was awarded a waza-ari. As time ticked, Rodriguez failed to garner a point and was thus relegated to a bronze medal match.
Challenging Fighting Maroon Rupert Fernandez, Rodriguez achieved half a point on a throw in the opening minutes of the match. Adamant to earn an ippon, the Blue Eagle tried to execute a leg sweep, but Fernandez deflected each attempt. Both judokas then incurred yellow cards until time ran out, granting Rodriguez the bronze medal.
Men’s -60kg division
Blue Eagle Peter Estacio fought against DLSU judoka Alexis Baldonado to vie for semifinal contention. After one minute of play, Baldonado managed to restrict Estacio’s arm in submission, leading to an early tapout. In the repechage match, Fighting Maroon John Almeyda obtained an ippon against the Atenean judoka, hence eliminating Estacio from the competition.
Adamant to also qualify for the semifinals, Josh Bolipata challenged UP’s Vhon Mamauag with a calculated approach. After attempting an immediate throw, Bolipata fell under a headlock to a point of unconsciousness, giving Mamauag the victory. Hoping to avenge himself in the repechage bracket, Bolipata faltered against Green Judoka Baldwin Aguilar after the Lasallian produced two waza-aris.
Men’s -66kg division
Men’s Team Captain Apostol entered the mats against DLSU’s Renzo Tomas in Pool A of the first round. Within 23 seconds, the Blue Eagle proceeded with a headlock submission, leading to Tomas’ early tap out.
In the quarterfinals, Apostol confronted Tiger Judoka Troy Estrella, who failed to execute an armbar submission. In spite of exhaustive throw attempts, Apostol earned a waza-ari following a successful challenge review. With limited minutes on the clock, Apostol resorted to a defensive stance to eventually advance to the semifinals.
Squaring off against Fighting Maroon Paolo Cruz, both judokas traded scoring attempts but defended each execution. However, Cruz’s 20-second pin down on Apostol placed the Atenean skipper in the bronze medal match.
Apostol put everything on the line against Tiger Judoka Cresente Navares, beginning with yellow card infractions. Then, Navares executed a throw on the mat that elicited a half-point recognition. As the final minutes ticked, Apostol received consecutive yellow cards, resulting in a controversial bronze medal for Navares.
Responding immediately, the Ateneo Coaches headed by Ali Sulit contested against the call, asking for another review. As time passed, both Apostol and Navares were called back to the mats, awarding the Blue Eagle an ippon and bronze accolade.
In the same weight class, Season 87 bronze medalist Dylim started with an armbar submission against Navares prior to the latter’s duel against Apostol. With the semifinals underway, the Blue and White judoka battled against UP’s Michael Zuniga, where both black belts fended off each attempt at throws and submissions. With the four-minute timer ending, Dylim received a yuko that allowed him to advance into the finals round.
With the gold medal at stake, Dylim opposed Fighting Maroon Paolo Cruz, approaching the contest with both aggression and precision. Both judokas veered away from being slammed flat on their back, leaving the Blue Eagle with under a minute left to close out the match. However, Cruz managed to slip in a technical throw in the final seconds of the contest and gained a yuko, thus handing Dylim a silver accolade.
Men’s -73kg division
Blue Eagle Ross Yalung started an aggressive approach towards DLSU’s Angelo Saria, attempting a leg sweep. However, the Green Judoka answered back with an execution of consecutive throws to achieve an ippon, leading Yalung towards the repechage.
Looking to avenge the Atenean judoka, Isaiah Escueta faced Marc Julao with determination, recovering quickly after the Green and White’s hustle. While both were down, Escueta incurred a yellow card but scored a waza-ari shortly after. With only one second on the clock, Julao obtained a full point against Escueta.
In a mission for redemption at the repechage, Yalung anticipated the first few moves of Adamson’s Alejandro Espadera, but ultimately fell to the Ermita-based judoka in 18 seconds. A similar unfortunate instance occurred for Escueta’s second chance, tapping out early in the match against UP’s Fierre Afan’s tactics on the mat.
Women’s -63kg division
Ateneo’s Aliyah Medina grappled UP’s Gabrielle Talaue firmly and diverted the Diliman-based judoka’s attempt to throw. Following that sequence, Medina incurred a yellow card. The Blue Eagle was pinned down by Talaue and fell to the Maroon and Green in a 20-second submission.
Recovering her composure in the repechage, the Katipunan-based judoka absorbed a 10-second pindown from UST’s Sherilyn Tagra, and another waza-ari courtesy of the full blow by the Gold and Black.
Women’s -73kg division
Khristine Anonuevo from the Katipunan-based squad parried the continuous attempts of UST’s Lea Quimba, incurring a yellow card while defending the Lady Judoka’s force. Anonuevo executed a leg sweep, but a better grapple resulted in a 20-second pindown, granting her the ippon.
Even with momentum coming into the semifinals, Anonuevo landed on her back before Adamson University’s Casanas, absorbing defeat in 12 seconds.
The bronze medal match witnessed the Blue Eagle’s efforts to endure the grappling of UP’s Destiny Senopera, but in 19 seconds, Anonuevo faltered against the Diliman-based judoka.
Women’s -78kg division
Representing the Blue and White in this division is the two-time UAAP gold and 2025 Southeast Asia Games gold medalist Maxine Mababangloob, who unfortunately had to sit out this tournament due to an injury. In light of this, an ippon was automatically granted to UST’s Margaret Fajardo and UP’s Leah Ladia in their respective matches against Mababangloob.
Women’s +78kg division
Isabella De Leon of the Ateneo Women’s Judo Team delivered a huge blow against Rovy Ujano from UP, but succumbed to the Diliman-based judoka’s leg sweep attempts, which granted her two waza-ari achievements.
In the next match, De Leon attempted to seize DLSU’s Rosalind Sze, but her force was staved off. Although the Lady Judoka incurred a yellow card, De Leon was caught up in Sze’s 10-second pin down to hand the full point and bronze medal to the Green and White.
The AJA concluded their Season 88 campaign with the Men’s division winning six medals and the Women’s bracket with two medals. With these fierce showings, the Blue Eagles look to hone their skills in preseason tournaments as they strive for another successful stint in Season 89.
