Tigers roar to 5th straight UAAP overall championship

MANILA, Philippines – The UAAP general title remained untouched in the Tigers’ lair.

University of Santo Tomas roared to another double crown, ruling the UAAP Season 85 seniors and juniors division by a huge margin at the closing ceremony Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Growling Tigers collected 336 points in the collegiate play while the Tiger Cubs garnered 217 points in the high school division for their fifth consecutive twin-titles in the full-swing return of the UAAP after the pandemic.

It’s supposed to be the sixth straight double championship for the España-based squad as UST reigned supreme in the shortened seniors division in Season 84, without any high school tournaments amid the health crisis.

The Growling Tigers and the Tiger Cubs also extended their streaks in their respective divisions as host Adamson passed the hosting torch to the University of the East.

UST captured nine titles in the seniors play of men's and women's beach volleyball, men's table tennis, women's taekwondo, men's judo, men's tennis, women's athletics, women's 3x3 and men's chess for their sixth straight and 46th overall UAAP crown.

The Tiger Cubs, for their part, clinched their seventh consecutive and 22nd overall title in the juniors after bagging eight championships in the girls' table tennis, boys' taekwondo, girls' beach volleyball, boys' and girls' swimming, boys' and girls' judo, and girls' athletics this season.

La Salle (279) and the University of the Philippines (260) completed the podium in the collegiate division as La Salle-Zobel (149) and Far Eastern U-Diliman (134) took home second and third place in the high school play.    

Honored as Athletes of the Year were Xiandi Chua (swimming) of La Salle and Nickole Dela Cruz (softball) of UP in the seniors division as well as Kent Jardin (athletics) of Adamson and Johnrey Pasaol (basketball) of FEU-Diliman in high school.

The UAAP also feted the 73 student-athletes in the Cambodia Southeast Asian Games led by tanker and new SEA Games women’s 200-m backstroke record holder Chua and men’s basketball gold medalist Jerom Lastimosa of host Adamson.