National University strengthened its bid to reclaim the men’s crown in the UAAP Season 88 Taekwondo Championships, securing three more spots in the Friday finals on Thursday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum in Malate, Manila.
The Bulldogs went 6-of-7 for the day, highlighted by second-year standout Kenneth Buevanides, who advanced to the men’s bantamweight (under-63 kg) gold medal match after a gritty quarterfinal win over De La Salle University’s Ron Joshua De La Llarte, 2–1 (13–2, 11–13, 4–2), and a dominant semifinal victory against University of Santo Tomas’ Jean Sebastian Durana, 2–0 (11–0, 15–2).
Buevanides will attempt to defend his title against UST’s Rama Liporada, who dispatched University of the Philippines’ Brendan Boteros, 2–0 (4–0, 8–1), in their semifinal clash.
“I’m proud of myself, and I thank God because without him I won’t be able to achieve any of this. The job’s not finished; there’s still the final left tomorrow. So, yeah, I want to thank God, my family, my teammates, and my coaches,” said the AB Communications sophomore.
Earlier, fellow Bulldogs Kurt Curata and Melbourne Lustado also secured their places in Friday’s finals in the finweight (under-54 kg) and flyweight (under-58 kg) divisions, respectively.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Curata outlasted UST’s Julio Zapata in a tight two-round semifinal, 10–6, 7–6, while Lustado dominated DLSU’s Jeff Cayanan, 2–0 (4–2, 6–1), to book his spot in the gold medal match.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Curata will face Ateneo de Manila University’s Michael Cabaluna Jr., who defeated UP’s Timothy Sales, while Lustado takes on UST’s Jin Aljen Aynaga, who prevailed over UP’s Vince Yango in straight rounds.
Three Bulldogs had already secured finals berths following Wednesday’s matches.
Kent John Banzon advanced to the featherweight (under-68 kg) final, while Carl Louie Ayaton and Cyvir Junio will compete for gold in the welterweight (under-80 kg) and middle/heavyweight (over-80 kg) divisions, respectively.
“I’m proud of my teammates because we’ve been working for over a year. Supposedly, UAAP was last October, but it was moved to April, so it gave us more time to prepare and get stronger. So, I’m proud of my teammates because we all fought hard and we all have a chance to become champions,” Buevanides added.
“Tomorrow, I want to see six golds. That’s an automatic championship; so, that’s what I want to see,” the second-year standout said.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
On the women’s side, the Lady Bulldogs boosted their title-retention campaign with five jins advancing to Friday’s finals, highlighted by an all-NU showdown in the middle/heavyweight (over-67 kg) division between Merica Chan and Micha Villarma.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Chan defeated UST’s Geriane Pineda, 2–0 (8–4, 12–9), while Villarma edged FEU’s Ashley Reniedo, 5–2, 8–7, setting up a 1–2 finish for NU in that category.
The remaining finals will also be fought on Friday.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
NU’s Via Trocio, who defeated UP’s Summer Maquiling, 2–0, will face Season 86 (2023) MVP Laizel Abucay in the featherweight (under-57 kg) final. Abucay needed three rounds to overcome FEU’s Czarina Danganan to reach the championship round.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
In the lightweight (under-62 kg) division, NU’s Sharifa Dela Cruz, who beat DLSU’s Angeline Alcantara in straight rounds, will go up against UST’s Jeanne Urmaneta, who also won in two rounds against UP’s Elisabeth Claravall.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Meanwhile, NU’s Jizyl Javier and UST’s Angel Lorbes will clash for the welterweight (under-67 kg) crown after winning their respective semifinals against Ateneo’s Kamille Calaycay and FEU’s Axl Baluyot.
In the high school girls’ division, another NU-UST finals pairing is set in the over-52 kg category, following multiple gold medal matchups between the two schools established earlier.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Irish Dela Cruz of NU Nazareth School and UST’s Aretha Pualengco arranged their finals showdown after defeating Daniela Simpao and Aiko Pangan, respectively, in the semifinals.
The Junior Lady Jins also secured an advantage in the under-52 kg division, with Chriselle Galve advancing to the final, where she will face Ateneo’s Jamyllah Pumaren.
