University of Santo Tomas completed an event sweep of the UAAP Season 88 Judo championships following a dominant showing in the men’s division and a strong finish in the women’s side on Sunday, April 12, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Malate, Manila.
This came after the España-based high school teams also completed a golden double earlier in the day.
Carrying a comfortable 17-point cushion after Day 1 over closest competitors De La Salle University Green Judokas, the Tiger Judokas stepped on the gas, amassing 24 more points on Day 2 with two golds, three silvers, and one bronze, including two 1–2 finishes.
Janry Pamor outlasted teammate Juan Miguel Evangelista in the under-60 kg final to take the gold, while Randy Ferrera defeated eventual Rookie of the Year Aeon Lance Kim in the under-73 kg title bout.
Pamor secured victory via an arm lock barely two minutes into the match against Evangelista, while Ferrera finished Kim with two successive two-handed throws, the second resulting in an ippon just past the one-minute mark.
“Bittersweet, kasi, although nanalo, may issue na dapat hindi nangyari. Pero siyempre very proud pa rin ako kasi ang trabaho lang naman ng coach ay i-guide lang sila, pero nasa kanila pa rin ‘yung hirap, ‘yung sakripisyo. Sila rin naman ‘yung deserving na makakuha nung championship,” said long-time men’s coach Steve Esteban.
Kyan Ballecer, who won the under-90 kg gold on Saturday, was named men’s MVP.
“It’s quite overwhelming, kasi we never expected na mananalo po. We prayed for it, we worked for it, pero hindi namin talaga expected. Kasi meron pa nga pong laban ‘yung UP and other schools pero we secured our championship,” said the third-year Tourism major.
On the other hand, Margaret Fajardo and Iahna Jaboneta handled their respective opponents from the University of the Philippines to fend off the challenge of their traditional rivals and secure UST’s first title since Season 81 (2018).
Fajardo won the lone match in the under-78 kg division over Leah Margaret Ladia with an ippon via o-goshi after just 31 seconds. Meanwhile, Jaboneta forced a submission against eventual Rookie of the Year Rovy Mae Ujano after almost two minutes in their final bout.
Mariah Lua added a gold in the under-70 kg via ippon from a morote against Adamson University’s Myles Casañas.
“Kahit sabihin nang laos na salita, pero thank you, Lord, talaga, kasi ang tagal namin ‘tong hinintay. Actually, dapat ‘di ba ‘yung UAAP first semester pa, so nanghintay kami ng one-and-a-half year. So, one-and-a-half year kaming nagte-training, one-and-a-half year kaming nagbi-build, and one-and-a-half year ‘din kaming naputol. Dati ‘yung lineup namin mahaba ‘yung pila, pero naging 15 na lang; naubos ‘yung lineup namin kasi ‘yung iba dahil sa eligibility, personal problems, so sobrang hirap pero sobrang sarap,” said Lady Judokas’ head coach Gerard Arce.
Christine Quiniones, who captured the under-44 kg gold, was named the division’s top student-athlete, and she expressed her pride in the team’s effort to finally end a four-year title drought.
“Siyempre masaya kasi po mahaba rin po naging preparation po namin. So, happy lang na naibalik na namin ‘yung title sa UST. Marami ring tournaments na sinalihan po kami, and training rin po talaga,” the third-year Fitness and Sports Management major shared.
“Tiwala lang po talaga sa sarili and tiwala lang rin po kay coach para ma-pull off namin ‘tong championship,” she added.
The UP Fighting Maroons mounted a rally in both the men’s and women’s divisions but ultimately finished as runners-up behind the Tiger and Lady Judokas’ golden double.
Seniors Lee Hyejun and returning Paolo Cruz delivered gold medals for the men’s side in the under-55 kg and under-66 kg divisions, respectively. Joelle Ting outlasted her rookie sparring partner Gabrielle Talaue to claim the under-63 kg title.
Lee edged Justin Bagallon, scoring a waza-ari with seven seconds left via a sumi gaeshi, while Cruz defeated Ateneo’s John Falcon Dylim III, also with a late score—a yuko via uchi mata with 17 seconds remaining.
Ting won the title over Talaue with an early yuko via tani otoshi, separating the two UP judokas.
The Fighting Maroons finished a distant second in the men’s side with 18 points, while the women’s team narrowly fell short of dislodging UST with 25.
Ateneo de Manila University finished third with 14 points, following Dylim’s silver and Eric Rodriguez’s bronze in the under-55 kg, ending just one point ahead of the De La Salle University Green Judokas’ 13 points.
University of the East’s reign ended with a third-place finish in the women’s division, led by the under-73 kg gold from national team standout Joemari-Heart Rafael.
