Last September 18 at the Arena in San Juan, the De La Salle Green and Lady Jins concluded their quest in the UAAPseason 75 Taekwondo championships with the ladies’ team capturing the crown.
The men’s team, on the other hand, settled as bridesmaid to the UST Tiger Jins because of the latter’s superior quotient among the final three teams. DLSU hence placed second, a notch above UP.
Leading the charge to bring the gold for the Lady Jins is season 75 MVP, Jyra Lizardo, while season 75 Rookie of the Year Patricia Gonzales provided the much-needed support. Though the men’s team’s championship bid was cut short, Keith Sembrano of the Green Jins managed to snag the season 75’s Rookie of the Year (ROY) award in the men’s division.
Dazzling Debutants
Brandished with the experience of international competition coupled with mentoring of the DLSU taekwondo coaching staff, Sembrano emerged victorious to win all of his six matches.
Apart from winning the ROY plum, Sembrano, earned a gold medal in the Featherweight division.
Lady Jin Patricia Gonzalez did not disappoint as well. The St. Francis School of Sta. Ana Manila alumna topped both the Welterweight division and the 2012 rookie class, earning a gold medal and the Rookie of the Year title. She admitted to have perceived herself winning the Rookie of the Year title.
“I know that I have poured in all the effort and made all the sacrifices that I can to take the [ROY] award and to help the team win the championship,” said the freshman AB-SPM student.
Gonzalez entered the Lady Jins’ lineup as the team’s youngest member. She affirmed, “I need to play my best during every fight so that I can show them that I am one of the best.”
On the other hand, Sembrano was not keen on winning the award. “I did not expect any awards. I just prepared for the worst so that if it happens, I can say that I am ready for that challenge,” explained Sembrano.
Tough Times
The Green Jins did not breeze through the competition to place second. They encountered several challenges, including the team’s sole defeat this season against UP. With Xavier Stepanek sidelined due to an elbow injury, the team needed to win at least four of its six matches against the Maroons.
Despite the team’s second-place finish, Sembrano remains optimistic that the Green Jins would reclaim the title next year.
Winning it all
Concentrated on bringing home the title as a team, Lizardo shared that winning the championship after failing to do so in her first three years was her personal motivation and that the MVP award is just an added bonus to conclude her team’s victory this season.
“Winning the MVP title never came to my thoughts while the team was training. Our mindset was only focused on winning the championship title as a team, and training is the only thing we concentrated on,” commented the veteran lightweight jin.
With success come casualties as the Lady Jins suffered injuries as the team advanced in the competition. Lizardo, however, affirmed, “Kahit injured na, lumalaban pa rin. (Even if we’re injured, we still continue to fight.)”
Reckoning success
Lizardo will spearhead the Lady Jins’ title defense next year as the rookies this season aim to improve their performance.
Gonzalez emphasized, “Of course it [our performance] has to be better since I started with a talented team.”
Sembrano added, “From the start, coach always reminds us to not only play as a team, but play as a family too. Never leave your teammates behind, and if someone gets left behind, be there to pull them back.”
Aside from the three, eight other Jins also bagged individual honors in this season’s UAAP taekwondo action. Leigh Ann Nuguid joined Lizardo and Gonzalez in winning the much-coveted gold while teammates Alyssa Bonifacio, April Solimen and Ynah Langit claimed silver medals.
In the men’s division, Sembrano, Team Captain R-Jay Del Rosario and Paolo Jasminez won gold medals while Gerry del Rosario and Season 73 Rookie of the Year Kevin Sia went home with bronze medals.
