UST Tigers, UP Lady Maroons bag UAAP judo titles

It's not only basketball that the athletes of University of Santo Tomas excel in. Over the weekend, while everyone's attention was focused on the coming men's basketball match with the Ateneo Blue Eagles, the UST judo team bagged the UAAP men's title at the Blue Eagle Gym at the Ateneo de Manila University campus. In the women's division, it was University of the Philippines (UP) judo team that got the title. Actually, UST and UP merely switched places. Last year, it was the Maroons who won the men's contest and the Tigresses who pocketed the women's title. But this time UST merely edged UP by a point to earn its seventh title in the league. For their 39 points, the male Maroons were relegated to runnerup position in the event where a gold medal is worth 10 points, a silver five points, and a bronze two points. UP's Lady Maroons grabbed their ninth women's title with five gold medals out of a possible seven. They collected 76 points to beat UST whose Tigresses earned just 29 points. Ateneo was third with 10 points. Ateneo dominated the juniors division which was played as a demonstration sport with Generoso Ronio (-81 kg), Justin Gui (under 81 kg) and Jonel Faelnar (under 73 kg) sweeping all three gold medals at stake. Francis Lim and Gian Carlo Sanlo, both sophomores, finished 1-2 in the men's under-90 kg to kick off UST's bid in the men's contest Saturday. However, it was Thesen Herena who remarkably saved UST's season with his domination of the under-60 kg class. The Education sophomore managed two ipons (throws) and a wazari (sweep) in upsetting last year 's Most Valuable Player Ronald San Juan of UP on Sunday, thus giving the crown to the Tigers. Herena was eventually named Season 69 MVP, along with Mellisa Buyco of UP in the women's side. Top rookies for the season were Salvador Reyes of Ateneo in the men's and Leslyn Gonzales of UP in the women's. UP clinched three gold medals in the men's�"Edgar Revillas (under 73 kg), Francesco Pangplangan (over 100 kgs) and Duke Villanueva (under 66 kgs). Ateneo finished third with 35 points on gold medals from Patrick Tabhan in the under 100 kg and Ralph Go in the under 81 kg. In the women's side, UP rode the splendid showing of Buyco, who topped the under 78 kg class, and Leslyn Gonzales (under 70kg), Joselle Ofrecio (under 62 kg), Thesamine Pociano (under 57 kg) and Michelle de Ocampo (under 51 kgs). "He [Herena] saved our day. We lost the title in the women's but still we were able to catch up and dominate the men's," said UST head coach Jojo Arce. - GMANews.TV