UAAP: Lady Jins clinch 2nd, Green Jins fall to fourth; Poomsae climbs to second

After two weeks of rigorous battles, the DLSU Lady Jins realized the fruits of their labor, improving to a second place finish in the UAAP Season 77 Taekwondo Tournament. The same did not hold true for their male counterparts though, as despite them coming in as last season’s champions, the Green Jins found themselves stumbling all the way down to fourth place. The DLSU Poomsae team, led by coach Jean Pierre Sabido, ended DLSU’s two weeks of competition on a high note, as they finished at second, a big improvement from last season’s last place finish.

The UST Tiger Jins reclaimed the top spot in the men’s division with Paul Romero receiving the MVP Honors. UP meanwhile won the women’s division with Charizza Camille Alombro emerging as the MVP. DLSU’s Camille Bonje was hailed as the rookie of the year in the women’s division while UST’ Aries Capispisan was the men’s division’s rookie of the year.
Day one
Last season’s champions began their tournament on a high note, notching a 5-2 win against Ateneo and a 4-3 win against FEU while the Lady Jins, last year’s third placer, secured wins against FEU, 4-3, and NU, 6-1 . As a result, both teams remained on top, 2-0 at the end of day one.

Against Ateneo, Paolo Jazmines and Kirk Barbosa overpowered their opponents as they garnered scores of 13-1 and 14-7, giving DLSU a two-point advantage. A close match between Josafat Licayan and his opponent followed in contrast to the swift battle of Kyle Uy, though nevertheless both ended as wins for the Green Jins. The following matches ended with two overtime rounds, ADMU took the fifth match while the sixth went to La Salle. DLSU withdrew from the last match, giving a point to the Blue Jins.

“It felt great to contribute a win,” Uy, who played in his first UAAP tournament, mentioned. “My teammates who played before me were all playing really well and I was happy to have been able to play my little part.”

The Green Jins suffered a loss against FEU, 8-10, but they immediately answered with two straight wins after. The fourth match ended as a win for FEU, tying up the points to 2-2. DLSU took the next two matches and withdrew in the last one.

Meanwhile, FEU got the early advantage as they took the first two matches from the Lady Jins. DLSU countered with three straight wins by Farah Regis, Apriel Solimen, and Camille Bonje. FEU bested La Salle in the sixth match, tying their scores to 3 all. The seventh and deciding match was won by DLSU’s Paola Amon, giving the Lady Jins their first win of the season.

The Lady Jins garnered three wins in their early matches against NU with scores of 7-3, 7-2, and 8-6. NU fought back in the fourth match to snatch a win from DLSU but the Lady Jins defeated NU in the remaining matches to seal the win.

Days two and three
The Green Jins incurred their first loss of the season after going against NU, 4-3. The first match ended in a defeat for DLSU after a close match, giving NU an early edge. However, Green Jins Kevin Sia and Licayan brought the lead back to DLSU as they each earned a point for La Salle. NU started their counterattack on the fourth match, defeating DLSU in three straight matches. The Green Jins stopped their streak in the seventh match when they won 12-0 that ended their matches with the final score of 4-3, in favor of NU.

The Green Jins then bounced back from their tough loss by defeating UP in a sweep, 7-0.

The Lady Jins however, lost their first match to ADMU, 16-4, but they answered back with six straight wins, trouncing ADMU, 6-1.
In their matches against the UST Tigresses, the Lady Jins were bested on the first match, 4-3, followed by a 9-7 win by Lady Jin Leigh Nuguid, tying their scores to 1-1. UST earned another point after they won the third match, 6-1. The Lady Jins beat the Tigresses in the two following matches but UST took the last two matches, defeating La Salle with a score of 4-3.

“Our coach [Roberto Cruz] has been reminding us to keep in mind his instructions and to keep up our team spirit in support of each other,” Uy added.

The third day went downhill for the Green Jins as they lost both of their matches against UST and UE. The Lady Jins won their game against ADMU but suffered a defeat from UP. As a result of their loss to UP, the Lady Jins fell to second. Due to NU winning over the Green Jins in the second day, the Green Jins had to settle for fourth place, three spots down from last season.

Poomsae success
Amid all the struggles the Green Jins and the Lady Jins went through, DLSU’s Poomsae team bounced back from last year’s last place finish to finish second to UP. The Diliman-based squad clinched the championship due to their superior quotient even if both teams finished with two golds, one silver, and one bronze.

Rinna Babanto brought home one gold and one silver after dominating the women’s individual competition with a score of 8.29, and partnering with Raphael Mella to clinch second place in the mixed pair’s match. Mella also nabbed DLSU’s other gold medal in the men’s team meet, where he teamed up with Sidney Lopez and Justin Andal, and also snatched the bronze in the men’s individual meet to round out DLSU’s medal haul.