Using their lightning fast and strong kicks, indomitable spirit coupled with perseverance, self-confidence, modesty and proper etiquette that was instilled to them, Our Lady of Fatima University Phoenix taekwondo jins snared their first championship title in the recently concluded National Athletic Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (NAASCU) held at the covered court of St. Clare College of Caloocan last December 7, 2009.
Out of all the schools and universities that participated in the event, it was the newcomer Fatima Phoenix that dethroned University of Makati as the reigning champion by bagging 3 gold medals, 3 silvers and 6 bronze from various weight divisions. San Sebastian College Recoletos de Cavite placed 2nd by garnering 3 gold and 2 silver medals while St. Clare College of Caloocan bagged the third place with 3 gold, 1 silver and 6 bronze medals.
The women's division outshined their adversaries from different schools as Lorraine Cayog and Jamaica Filipino from the featherweight division snared their first NAASCU gold and silver medals while bantamweight Lovely Mae Capongcol shared her count for the silver medal. Flyweight Monique Villareal, lightweights Kriziah Anley Cruz and Ma. Bettina Manlapaz, welter-heavyweights Ma. Kristel Tadeo and Ma. Unida Unido settled for the bronze medals.
In the men's division, John Mickey Tan and Alexander Alivio solidified Fatima's campaign for the championship title as the latter defeated San Sebastian's taekwondo jin in a sudden deathmatch for the gold medal. Alivio's win sent San Sebastian's crowd walking out of the court in disappointment. Daryl Begonia also shared his count for the silver medals while Mark Anthony Basinag, Lloyd Dave Osio, Earl Villarosa and Jed Enriquez won their first bronze medals in NAASCU.
"I was really nervous during the fight but when I felt that I can already control the match, I got confident and I felt that I was going to win. I studied my opponent's move first and when I saw his kick, it felt like I can already see how he's going to attack so I focused more on offensive-defense," Tan explained.
As part of their preparation for this, the Dr. Vicente Santos Sr. Taekwondo Competition, wherein Valenzuela Campus was named as champion, was held to select the students who will participate in NAASCU. They also arranged a five-hour training session every 8:00 p.m. after the jins' class every day and they managed to maintain their diet individually based the taekwondo jins' weight division to keep them physically fit for the fight.
"I wish them the best and I'm proud of them for being the champion this season. I hope they will continue to hone their skills and always remember to keep their feet on the ground and to the administrators, I thank them for being so supportive to the jins. I think we can hold on as long as we train hard and learn from our mistakes. Our taekwondo jins are competent enough to hold the title of our team and we can go further even in NCAA and UAAP. We can even make them compete in the world level," Mr. Angel Caliguiran stated, head coach of the Phoenix taekwondo jins.
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