UST tops Taekwondo's Poomsae events

By Josiah Albelda Posted Sep 19th 2013

(By Randolph Leongson)

University of Santo Tomas bagged five gold medals to sweep the UAAP Season 76 poomsae competitions Wednesday at the San Juan Arena.

National team mainstays Vidal Marvin Gabriel and Shaneen Ched Sia led the UST poomsae delegation as they topped the individual men’s and women’s category to earn the gold in their division.

“Everybody prepared hard for this. I didn’t expect anything but all I wanted is for them to give their best,” said UST coach Rani Ortega. “I’m just so happy and I can’t explain the joy I feel right now.”

Gabriel got a score of 8.52 for his routine to reign over the men’s division. UP’s Dustin Jacob Mella (8.33 points) finished second, while Ateneo’s Raymund Bermejo (7.97 points) ended up as third.

Sia’s 8.35 points from the judges was good enough to get the gold medal, topping Ateneo’s France Pauline Alarilla (8.07 points) who got the silver medal, and FEU’s Juvenile Faye Crisostomo (8.05 points) who had the bronze.

“Malaking tulong si Marvin (Gabriel) at Shaneen (Sia) sa team,” Ortega said of his two jins who represent the country. “They share their experience in the international competitions and it boosts the whole team to go harder sa mga practice namin.”

In the mixed pair category, UST’s Rodolfo Reyes Jr. and Yuie Hannah Murillo took gold with 8.24 points, while UP’s Anthony Ray Matias and Cyrmyn Perlas had 8.15 points to grab the silver, as Alarilla and Francis Aaron Agojo of Ateneo’s 8.04 points earned the bronze medal.

The team of Gabriel, Reyes, and Ronnel Avenido of UST were named as the gold medalists for the male team category with a score of 8.34 points, followed by the UP team of Mella, Anthony Ray Matias, and Jun Jeffri Lidasan (8.30 points) for the silver medal, and the Atenean team of Bermejo, Agojo, and Justin de Leon took home the bronze medal (8.02 points).

In the female team category, it was the UST trio of Jocellyn Ninobla, Jan Airish Cenizal, and Raisa Libiran who brought home the gold (8.24 points), while the silver went to the FEU team of Leanarda Nicole Leandrito, Winlou Gean dela Cerna, and Ann Margareth Diaz (8.19 points), and the bronze medalists were Patricia Mae Sembrano, Rochelle Corcino, and Kristi Anrose Hernandez of La Salle (8.00 points).

UST led the medal tally with five golds, followed by UP with three silvers, Ateneo with one silver and three bronzes, FEU with a silver and a bronze, and La Salle with one bronze.

This season, poomsae is now considered as a regular sport, where points for each school’s finish will be tabulated and included for the computation of this season’s general championship.