FOLLOWING NUMEROUS showings on the mat, the Ateneo Taekwondo Teams continued their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 campaign in the Kyorugi tournament. The heated day of battles was held earlier today, April 23, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in the City of Manila.
The Kyorugi squad consisted of Team Captain Angelo Santiago, Michael Cabaluna Jr., Kier Cuyugan, Niko Macasaet, Stefanie Leones, Keir Atendido, Princess Lino, Kamille Calaycay, and Andrea Chua on their second day of competition. Cabaluna Jr. blasted through the Finweight division on his way to the Finals, positioning himself for a gold medal opportunity tomorrow.
Men’s Bantamweight
Representing the Blue Eagles in the first leg of the tournament today was Team Captain Santiago who faced University of Santo Tomas (UST)’s Jean Durana. The Ateneo ace found trouble containing his adversary through two fights, dropping the lead in both contests. Santiago soon lost in an 0-2 bout, bowing out from the Bantamweight tournament.
Men’s Finweight
Carrying on the day’s competition was Cabaluna Jr. who opened his Finweight matchups against Far Eastern University (FEU)’s Timothy Arcabos. Cabaluna Jr. controlled the pace of his quarterfinals fight, building insurmountable leads to overcome his opponent in a 2-0 beating.
With the chance of entering the Finals sweepstakes, the Blue and White jin then took on University of the Philippines (UP)’s Stephen Sales. In their first round, the Blue Eagle held his opponent scoreless with a 6-0 sweep, standing one win away from advancing. The heated second round fight saw Cabaluna Jr. maintain his winning pace as he won, 11-4, to buy his ticket into the Finweight division Finals.
Men’s Flyweight
Finishing out the Men’s division matches were Cuyugan and Macasaet in two round of 16 fights. Cuyugan first faced off against the fourth-seeded Vince Yango of UP, which built towards a high-stakes final round. With the two competitors splitting the first two battles, the Ateneo jin narrowly missed out on advancing as he dropped his final contest by six points, losing the bout 1-2.
Macasaet then took on the challenge of facing a Flyweight contender in De La Salle University Jeff Cayanan. Through two rounds, Macasaet missed out on victory by a matter of points, but not enough to progress, 0-2.
Women’s Featherweight
Opening the Women’s division bouts was rookie Leones in her quarterfinal game against UST’s Laizel Abucay. The Katipunan-based jin found troubles in keeping up with her matchup’s offense as she fell behind in the first set, 11-21.
Even as Leones contained her opponent to 15, her output faltered as she promptly conceded the hard-fought contest and game, 4-15.
Women’s Lightweight
Ateneo’s Atendido carried on the matches in the Lightweight division, engaging in a bout with UP’s Elisabeth Claravall in the quarterfinals. Facing her third-seeded opponent, Atendido managed to unleash an aggressive front by stealing the first round in dramatic fashion, 12-10.
However, Atendido lost her footing in the next round as her defensive stance faltered against Claravall, tying their battle a set apiece. In the last battle, the Blue Eagle almost cleared the hurdle but fell short by four points to lose her game, 1-2.
Women’s Middle/heavyweight
Following the two tournaments, Lino stepped onto the matted arena in the penultimate matchup against FEU’s Ashley Reniedo. Despite the lone athlete’s relentlessness, she conceded her match by a mere three points to her sixth-seeded opponent, 0-1.
Even with her aggression in the second round of battle, Lino could not keep up with her adversary. The flurry of moves carried out by Reniedo became too much to handle for Lino, dropping the fight, 0-2.
Women’s Welterweight
Rounding out the third day of competition with the Welterweight tournament, Calaycay took on FEU’s Janina Villabona. The Ateneo veteran made quick work of Vilabona in the first round, building an assertive offense, 14-2. With a chance to break through into the semifinals, Calaycay made the moment count as she extended her second battle lead to six gaining her the win, 16-10.
The Blue Eagle, even with her quarterfinal success, would soon fall short in keeping up with National University (NU)’s Jizyl Javier, 1-2.
In the final battle of the day, Chua faced off against the third-seeded Axl Baluyat of FEU. The Blue and White jin engaged in a close contest which ended in a tied battle, which consequently went to FEU’s favor via judges’ decision. With one round left to work with, Chua had difficulties cracking her opponent’s defense which abruptly concluded her tournament, 0-2.
As the penultimate day of Season 88 closes, the Ateneo Taekwondo Teams find themselves gearing towards a formidable test on the last day of competition tomorrow, April 24, at 8:00 AM in the same venue. Moreover, Cabaluna Jr. joins Carl Williams as they both look for success in the Men’s Finweight and Lightweight Finals, respectively, tomorrow.
