Augustinian the
Volume LXVIII • Number 2 September 13, 2021
SPORTS
RISE OF A PRO. An Augustinian swimmer during the Intramurals 2019 propels himself to an extremely competitive level of swimming, hitting the water with indomitable spirit and will. uSa pub pHOTO • CHiTO CeZar baTOOn Jr.
PeRSISTenCe THRoUGH adVeRSITY USA Sp o r t s s t ay s a flo at am i d pa n d e mi c
b y He Ctor o. Cofr e r os Despite the limited sports competitions due to the ongoing health crisis, the Sports Program of the University of San Agustin continues to raise its flag higher with several wins in local and international sports competitions. In an interview with The Augustinian, Eric Divinagracia, director of the Student Affairs and Welfare Office (SAWO), gave an overview on the status of the university sports program including the training of the student athletes. “The athletes will continue to do their practices and they will be supervised online by their coaches. There was a regimen that was prescribed to them there were some exercises that were
prescribed to them so that they were able to remain fit. In that regard we also must maintain our coaches. So, that’s one.” In addition to the whereabouts of the athletes, Divinagracia gave updates on the development of the Esports program of the University. “Another opportunity is to strengthen our esports program. So last year, we were able to collaborate with the USA Student Government in introducing esports in our university events – San Agustin Feast Day, University Week, even UNIGAMES, and PRISAA. We had several students winning in esports and in karatedo. Those non-contact sports which observed social distancing or at-home performance they
were allowed to compete in those particular games,” added Divinagracia. Moreover, according to Demosthenes Toledo, coordinator of the University Sports Program, the University continues to support its athletes all throughout the limited sports events. “The University through our USA President, Rev Fr. Frederick Comendador, OSA and the rest of the Augustinian friars are very supportive and generous to our athletes by continuing the scholarship privileges enjoyed by our student-athletes despite that there is no actual competition,” said Toledo. Meanwhile, Travis Gunnar Castro, a student-athlete and a member of the USA Taekwondo team who participated in international competitions held
in China, Argentina, and Mexico, shared his experience in joining the competitions in these difficult times. “On top of the competitions, I also had to worry about the exams. Training with the coach for a whole week, straight after the exams, was exhausting. Gaining love and support from my peers and coaches encouraged me. Overall, I enjoyed the training sessions and competing, despite the challenges I encountered,” shared Castro. As of now, the University Sports Program emphasizes that it would maintain Esports presence and dominance though it is looking forward in the foreseeable future that it could organize non-contact sports if quarantine protocols are eased or when vaccination is introduced.
FINAL BATTLE. Footballers match up perfectly on the side with their notable defense to seize the ball any chance they get. uSa pub pHOTO • rOTSen C. agreda
PH athletes gear up for Asiad 2022 by em y r o s e g . g a lle g o
infOgr apHi CS • r enZ JO SH ua arb iS
SKATES TO GOLD. Margielyn Didal competes during the Skateboard Women’s Street final of the 2018 asian games at the JSC Skateboard Stadium, Palembang, Indonesia. file pHOTO • edgar Su, reuTerS
Driven by the mission to surpass the country’s performance in the last edition of the Asian Games, also known as Asiad, the Philippine National Team started preparing for the quadrennial meet set on September 10 to 25 in Hangzhou, China. According to the Philippine Olympic Committee, the Philippines will compete in 46 of the 61 sports that will be held during the said multi-sport event. “We submitted our list last Friday—the deadline—and we based our list on our effort to
surpass our last achievement of four gold medals—in Jakarta— because we improved a lot in the SEA Games,” said POC President Abraham “Bambo” Tolentino. Filipino athletes will be competing in men’s and women’s volleyball, men’s and women’s beach volleyball, weightlifting, aquatics, archery, athletics, baseball, softball, men’s basketball, men’s 3x3 basketball, boxing, wrestling, sailing, sepak takraw, shooting, sports climbing, squash, taekwondo, tennis, triathlon, wushu, canoekayak, and cycling MTB and BMX. Completing the list are
skateboarding, rowing, men’s rugby dancesports’ breaking, men’s dragon boat, equestrian, fencing, judo, jiu-jitsu, kurash, karate, bridge, chess, esports, xiangqi, modern pentathlon, men’s football, golf, artistic and rhythmic gymnastics. Meanwhile, Dr. Jose Raul Canlas, the country’s chef de mission for the Hangzhou games said that he is now collaborating with the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) on the required funds for the coming year. “We started working on the Asian Games because next year is
an election year, so it’s transition year for the PSC (Philippine Sports Commission). I’m coordinating with PSC Chairman William Ramirez on how we are going to go about the budget right now,” shared Canlas. Canlas further stated that it is best to start preparing this year rather than waiting until next year, because the national and local elections in 2022 could slow down their preparations. “We began working on the Asian Games since next year is an election year for the PSC, therefore it is a transition year,” he concluded.
