DLSU Jins bag bronze in Taekwondo, Poomsae

DLSU’s Jins clinched bronze in the men’s and women’s divisions, as well as the mixed poomsae event, of the UAAP Season 78 Taekwondo Tournament held at the Blue Eagle Gym last October. Both the Green Jins and Lady Jins ended their respective campaigns with identical 4-2 win-loss records in the single round-robin tournament.

GC rival UST managed to take home the championship in the men’s division, with UE coming in at second place. Rounding out the podium was La Salle, who, interestingly, dealt UST their only loss in the round-robin tournament. UE won its first title in the women’s division, while UST came in at second place. The Lady Jins finished the season at third place after bowing to the top two finishers of their division.

UST’s Joaquin Mendoza and UE’s Karen Celis received MVP honors for the men’s and women’s divisions, respectively. La Salle, on the other hand, managed to bag home an award of their own as Kyle Arsenal took home the Rookie of the Year award to add to the three podium finishes of the Green-and-White.

In the mixed poomsae event, UST once again took home the gold medal, followed by runner-up UP. The DLSU Jins rounded up the top three spot behind the efforts of veterans Rinna Babanto and Raphael Mella, who led the way for La Salle as they displayed accuracy and grace in their performances.

Though two places short of a championship, the future is bright for DLSU taekwondo. Coming into the tournament with a young squad, the Jins still managed to finish at the podium while also showing flashes of brilliance against stronger and more experienced opponents.

The three bronze finishes meant that La Salle’s Jins garnered a total of 30 points for the GC race. GC rival UST managed to outscore the team from Taft as they took home 42 points from the three Taekwondo divisions.