Concluding the hard-kicking action on the first of the three day Taekwondo Tournament of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA), The De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) Jins finished with four medals—three podium finishes for the Women’s, and a bronze for the Men’s division. The event was held today at the Collegio de San Juan de Letran gymnasium, Intramuros Manila.
After several matches of sparring in the elimination round, John Roel Hernandez, Noelyn Campos, Sophia Alexandria Baniaga, and Patricia Gonzalez managed to kick their way onto the medal contest of the tournament.
Despite losing in the semi-finals round, Blazers’ Hernandez still managed to salvage a bronze medal against home crowd favorite Raymond Avila of the Letran Knights with a (4-2) victory. Jin Head coach Roberto Cruz mentioned that the tournament, specifically the Men’s division, is very competitive considering how heavily invested the green and white competitors are.
In the Lightweight match, Lady Jin Baniaga was close enough, but failed to sustain her late rally (11-10) for the gold title against Recoletos’ star Camille Acudili of the San Sebastian College (SSC). Baniaga’s teammate, Gonzales faced a similar fate in her podium maul, finishing as a silver medalist as well.
“Going to the court pressured, ako kasi nag gold [ako] last year so kailangan ko siya idefend with this fracture so sobrang laking pressure,” mentioned Baniaga, who played with a fractured right hand.
For the Women’s Bantamweight event, Campos nabbed a bronze medal for the Jins after overpowering Rose Dela Cruz of the Arellano University Chiefs in a superb (13-1) match. The Sophomore mentioned that she was indeed content with the result of the match despite finishing third becaude she feels this will only propel her forward.
After only notching four medals on the first leg of the tournament, Coach Cruz remains optimistic for the Jins. “[Dapat] umpisa pa lang trabaho na nila [dapat] tambkakan na nila [ang kalaban] hindi yung tayo yung laging dyahe. Tayo yung laging naghahabol, yun lang siguro meron pa naman tayong bukas so we still have a chance,” mentioned Cruz.
The Blazing Jins have two more days to prove themselves and grab more medals as they compete in the Fly, Feather, Welter, and Heavy Divisional tournaments on October 15 and 16 at the Collegio San Juan De Letran Gymnasium, Manila.
