National University completed an event sweep of the UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Taekwondo championships, claiming both the men’s and women’s kyorugi overall titles at the close of the four-day competition on Friday at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
The last time the Jhocson-based institution achieved the feat was in Season 82 (2019), led by Olympian Kurt Barbosa and national team mainstay Jessica Canabal.
NU also secured the poomsae championship, marking the program’s second title in that discipline earlier this week.
The Bulldogs had already dominated multiple fronts this season, winning men’s athletics, women’s standard chess, women’s tennis, and baseball, bringing their total to seven championships.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
“Siyempre, masaya [and] overwhelming; lahat ng pinaghirapan ng mga bata ay nagbunga ngayon. So hard work lang talaga and also nga dahil di kami natuloy ng October, we had enough time to prepare, laking tulong din yun,” said NU head coach Carlos Padilla.
“Sobrang saya kasi ‘yun naman talaga yung goal. Kung today champion, the following day back to zero na ulit. Season 89 na ulit, back to drawing board ulit,” added the concurrent national team mentor.
“Hard work and training na ulit lahat; sasali kami sa tournaments. Anuman ang mali doon, i-co-correct namin sa training. It’s a matter of yung bata dapat committed. Happy [ako] na ‘yung mga players natin sa NU na nagko-cooperate. Gusto talaga nilang manalo. Nabibigyan naman sila ng magandang program sa training nila; that’s why siguro nakuha nila ‘yung ganto. So, ‘di rin ’to mangyayari kung ’di dahil sa mga players ko.”
The women’s squad secured back-to-back titles dominantly, clinching one of the last two gold medals at stake after the University of Santo Tomas showed signs of resurgence with two straight victories.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Sharifa Dela Cruz sealed NU’s second consecutive championship and sixth overall, edging UST’s Jeanne May Urmaneta in the women’s lightweight (under-62 kg) final, 8–8, 9–12, 7–0, for NU’s third gold of the tournament.
On the other hand, the men’s team delivered in dramatic fashion, needing a gold medal in the final match of the competition — the middle/heavyweight (over-80 kg) final — to secure their sixth crown overall.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Cyvir Junio outlasted University of Santo Tomas’ Israel Cantos, winning the opening round 8–5 before rallying from a 3–7 deficit in the second to clinch the gold, 10–9, as NU narrowly overtook UST in the medal race.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Eventual MVP Merica Chan opened NU’s campaign with a gold in an all-Lady Bulldogs final in the middle/heavyweight (over-67 kg), defeating Micah Villarma during the morning session.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Later in the afternoon, Rajany Santos added another gold, dominating University of the Philippines’ Mikaela Sese, 15–7, 1–1, in the flyweight (under-46 kg).
However, the Lady Jins responded through Tachiana Mangin and Laizel Abucay, who captured gold medals in the bantamweight (under-53 kg) and featherweight (under-57 kg) divisions, respectively.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Mangin, a 2024 World Junior champion and Rookie of the Year, overwhelmed RJ Rae Arquion in two rounds, 10–0, 9–0, while Season 86 MVP Abucay held off Via Trocio, 12–2, 6–3.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
With the title secured, Jizyl Javier capped NU’s campaign with a victory over Angel Lorbes in the welterweight (under-67 kg) final, completing the Lady Bulldogs’ back-to-back championship run.
“For me, speaking for the team din, super grateful and super overwhelmed. We really worked hard for this; grabe ‘yung sakripisyo namin for this, ‘yung ensayo, ‘yung hatak namin kahit sa labas, as in grabe talaga yung effort namin just to be united. So, with hard work and unity na pull off namin maging back-to-back [champions],” said two-time MVP Merica Chan.
NU finished on top of the standings with a 4–3–1 medal tally, ahead of UST’s 2–3–1.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Jade Papa secured De La Salle University’s lone gold, winning the finweight (under-46 kg) title over UST’s K-Ann Gibaga, 14–12, 17–7, helping La Salle reach the podium.
In the men’s division, early golds were split among different schools before NU gained momentum late in the competition.
Ateneo’s Michael Cabaluna Jr. struck first in the flyweight (under-54 kg), defeating NU’s Kurt Curata, 12–6, 8–5, while La Salle’s Einz Aricayos rallied past Ateneo’s Carl Williams, 8–14, 11–8, 8–5, in the lightweight (under-74 kg).
UP’s Alexander Ogoy added another gold in the featherweight (under-68 kg) after defeating Kent John Banzon, 2–2, 15–10, 9–8, while UST’s Aljen Aynaga stunned NU’s Melbourne Lustado, 13–4, 4–0, in the flyweight (under-58 kg).
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
NU eventually broke through when Kenneth Buenvides defended his bantamweight (under-63 kg) title against UST’s Rama Liporada in straight rounds, 9–7, 7–2.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
The victory set up a tense finish, with UST captain Justin Mark Agno briefly keeping the Tiger Jins alive after outlasting Carl Ayaton in two close rounds.
But NU ultimately secured the championship via superior medal count, finishing with 2–4–0 against UST’s 2–2–4.
“It feels amazing. I’m proud of all my teammates; we all worked so hard for this. For me, it wasn’t a surprise because we deserved it. I generally believe that we worked so hard for it,” said Buenvides.
“We’ve been working hard, but I think we deserve a long rest for now. But yeah, for next season, 0–0 again, we’re gonna train like we’re still chasing that championship title again,” he added.
Cabaluna’s gold and Williams’ silver lifted Ateneo to third place with a 1–1–1 record, ahead of UP (1–0–5) and De La Salle (1–0–3).
Far Eastern University-Diliman, which earlier captured its first-ever High School Boys’ title, also celebrated the performances of division MVP Josh Pinatacan and Rookie of the Year Karl Batulayan.
