PINATUNAYAN ng University of the East ang dominasyon nito sa UAAP Season 87 judo competitions nang magwagi ng tatlong titulo noong Linggo sa Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Nakolekta ng women’s team, sa pangunguna ni MVP Leah Jhane Lopez, ang ika-4 na sunod na titulo nito makaraang makalikom ng 40 points sa 4 gold, 3 silver, at 3 bronze medals.
Pumangalawa ang University of Santo Tomas na may 19 points (1 gold, 1 silver, at 9bronzes), sumunod ang De La Salle University na may 14 points (1-2-1), Ateneo de Manila University na may 12 (1-1-2), at University of the Philippines na may 11 (1-1-1).
“We, at UE, it’s not just a team, it’s like a family. And the culture we have developed in UE is different. The respect and discipline is really there. And also in training, we really have each other’s support system,” pahayag ng 24-anyos na si Lopez ng Pasay City.
Naghari rin ang UE sa high school division. Nakopo ng boys’ team ang kauna-unahang titulo nito habang nasungkit ng girls’ squad ang back-to-back titles.
Ang UE at UST ay kapwa nakakolekta ng 36 points subalit nakuha ng una ang boys’ title ng 1 gold (4 golds, 2 silvers, at 2 bronzes) habang ang huli ay may 3 golds, 3 silvers, at 6 bronzes.
Pumangatlo ang Ateneo na may 12 points (1-1-2), kasunod ang La Salle-Zobel na may 10 (0-2-4).
Sa girls’ category, nakakuha ang UE ng 45 points (5-3-1), sumunod ang UST na may 31 (2-4-5) at La Salle-Zobel with 10 (1-1-0).
Samantala, nakalikom ang UST ng 47 points sa 4 golds, 5 silvers, at 4 bronzes upang maitala ang league-best 15 titles sa men’s category.
Si national team standout Troy Estrella, na naidepensa ang minus 66kg title, ang itinanghal na MVP.
“I am happy for UST that we were able to return the championship that our players worked so hard for. We came from a tough loss from last year from being straight champions. Now that we have come back, we’re very happy,” sabi ni Estrella.
“The MVP was added just to make me happy, but my goal is to help the team become champions.
And that’s the goal of all of us, to be champions.”
Pumangalawa ang UP na may 34 points (3-2-7), sumunod ang by De La Salle na may 11 (1-1-1) at Ateneo na may 4 points (0-0-4).