By Paulo Diesta, Nikolai Ordoña, and Marcus Suner

Photo by Sancho Tinio

The Grade 11 student-athletes across all strands represented their sections as they competed during the Sportsfest elimination rounds at the Formation Learning Center (FLC) and the Ateneo Junior High School (AJHS) Football Field. 

Facilitated by the Athlete’s Council (AthC), the first round of eliminations began on October 11, followed by the second round, which resumed on October 13, 2023.  

Most sports, such as badminton mixed doubles, basketball 3×3 (girls), basketball (boys), chess, and volleyball, were held at the FLC building, while ultimate frisbee and football were played in the AJHS Football Field. 

The competitive nature among athletes arose in the AthC-led event as the participants contended for a spot in the upcoming Sportsfest rounds. 

October 11: Sportsfest elimination rounds commence

BADMINTON

Located at the FLC third floor, teams competing during the first round of eliminations were divided into courts 1A and 1B with three match-ups each. 

The badminton match-up between 11-Hoyos and 11-San Vitores ended with the latter’s triumph. The first set was a landslide victory, with the score being 21-9 in favor of 11-San Vitores. 

Despite 11-Hoyos responding better and providing fierce competition in the second set, they still fell short against 11-San Vitores, who strategically placed their shots towards a 21-16 victory. 

Due to a lack of practice time, Carlos Yu from 11-San Vitores described how he and his fellow teammate Yuri Yoshida had to build their chemistry midgame to achieve victory.  

“It was like our first time playing together, so we had to learn and know each other’s playstyles while in the game,” Yu stated. 

As they headed toward the following rounds, Yuri Yoshida acknowledged the skill of every participant in the event and shared her preparations for upcoming opponents.

“Through the first elimination rounds, I saw how each and every one of the players were great and even excel in the sport, so I have decided to perhaps train again if time, hopefully, permits me to do so,” said Yoshida.

Subsequently, the match between 11-Owen and 11-Nakaura was stopped early in the first set due to 11-Nakaura having two boys in the team instead of one, as stated in the rules. 11-Owen won by default and claimed a spot in the upcoming rounds. 

A close first set ensued between the badminton match of 11-Realino and 11-Hurtado, with both teams reaching deuce at 20-20. However, 11-Realino acquired the edge, winning two straight points to earn them the victory. In the second set, 11-Realino fought to a dominant 21-9 win over 11-Hurtado. 

11-Wright won the badminton game against 11-Gavan, with the final tally being 21-11 in the first set and 21-12 in the second set. 

For 11-Goupil vs 11-Tsuji, the latter won with scores of 10-21 in the first set and 21-12 in the second.

Sophie Reyes and Marc Valerio of 11-Perez won the first set against 11-Mayer, with the score being 21-11. They continued their stellar performance as they secured a place for the next rounds, with the results of the second set being 21-8.

Reyes explained her and Valerio’s preparations for the first round of eliminations. “My partner and I also practiced playing together before PE class and before the game started,” she stated.

In gearing up for the next rounds of Sportsfest, Valerio stated the necessary adjustments he would make to improve and prepare against upcoming match-ups. 

“I’ll prepare for the next rounds by resting and remembering where I made mistakes in my previous matches to try to improve my game… I’ll talk with my partner, Sophie, to come up with strategies that we may use against our opponents in our next matches,” said Valerio.

BASKETBALL 3X3

FLC’s court two witnessed the Basketball 3×3 matches, with 11-Bellarmino bagging the first win against 11-Wright at 2-1. This was followed by 11-San Vitores vs. 11-De Brito, with the latter dominating the court.

The third game saw the face-off between 11-Escribano and 11-Realino. No shot was made until the last five-minute mark when 11-Realino successfully scored two points. Julia Rosero of 11-Realino shared her experience before and during the game.

“A lot of the preparation was mental. Trying to overcome the fear of playing in an unfamiliar sport, the possible embarrassment during the game, and so many other factors almost scared me into backing out. However, as I talked more with my teammates, I realized that we were all in the same boat, boosting my morale and eventually allowing me to overcome these thoughts,” Rosero said.

“Our team’s main priority was to have fun during the sportsfest, so coming into the game, I focused on making sure I was going to enjoy this bonding experience with my classmates. There was a bit of fear and feelings of inadequacy, but I simply adapted the mindset that everyone on that court also probably felt the same way. Naturally, I also wanted to win our game so I went in hopeful that while we were having fun, we would also have the synergy and luck to win— thankfully we did,” she added.

Meanwhile, 11-Mayer and 11-Grande faced each other at the final game for the day. The match saw an intense exchange between the players, with both teams striving to catch up with each other’s scores. In the end, Grande claimed the spot for the finals at 5-3, which was also recorded as the highest total number of shots amongst the matches.

“I speak for everyone on my team when I say we were both excited and anxious. Honestly, everyone was a bit nervous, especially since we didn’t have much time to practice for the game, but we were still ecstatic, nonetheless,” said Mariam Bacayo of 11-Grande.

BASKETBALL

Situated in FLC court five, the first basketball match-up was between 11-San Vitores and 11-Grande. The game ended with 11-Grande rising on top, scoring 23-6, which earned them a spot for the upcoming rounds. 

The following game saw 11-Hoyos’ offensive proving, which 11-Realino could not handle, displaying a final score count of 21-5. This secured 11-Hoyos for the next rounds of Sportsfest.

In a separate bracket, referees put a halt in the match between 11-Hoyos and 11-Goupil, with the former resulting as victor by default. 

CHESS

Match-ups for Chess A participants were conducted in the Black Box Theater of the senior high school building. 

In a battle of wits and mental toughness, the chess representatives of each section competed against each other to advance to the quarterfinals of Sportsfest brackets. 

The first batch of winners were 11-Nakaura, 11-Garnet, 11-Torres, 11-San Vitores, 11-Mayer, 11-Goupil, 11-Wright, and 11-Moscoso.

Another set of elimination brackets immediately followed suit, with the winners competing for the second time against other sections. In a match between 11-Nakaura and 11-Angelis, the former was again the victor. Similarly, 11-Torres continued its advance up the brackets with a win against 11-Campion. However, 11-Brebeuf triumphed over the previous winner 11-San Vitores. 11-Borja defeated 11-Mayer, with the former advancing towards the next round. 

The match-up between 11-Goupil and 11-De Brito ended in an 11-Goupil victory. For the last chess game, 11-Moscoso claimed the win over 11-Bellarmino. Due to the absence of participants, 11-Wright and 11-Escribano were scheduled for a later date. 

VOLLEYBALL

Volleyball match-ups were held at the third floor FLC, with the assigned courts holding three games each.

Both 11-Owen and 11-Nakaura showed stellar performances. Despite the closeness of the scores, 11-Owen clinched victory, with final tallies of 15-13 for the first set and 15-11 for the second set.

On the other hand, 11-San Vitores came out on top against their opponents in 11-Hoyos, scoring 13-9 in the first set and 15-6 in the second. 

In a separate bracket, a tight match was displayed between 11-Wright and 11-Gavan. Both sections reached a deuce in the first set, with the score tied at 14-14. With the game on the line, 11-Gavan successfully executed their shots en route to a 17-15 victory. 11-Wright was able to make adjustments and well-timed plays but fell short in a 15-10 loss during the second set. As a result, 11-Gavan advanced to the next round. 

Several match-ups between sections displayed close competitions, evident in the 11-Moscoso vs. 11-Perez volleyball game. The first set resulted in 11-Moscoso as the victors, with the final score being 15-9. Despite falling behind in the first set by 6 points, 11-Perez changed their game plan to win the exchange in a tight 16-14 game during the second set. Following the win, 11-Perez continued the pace in the last set towards a 15-11 triumph over 11-Moscoso.

With the team of 11-Goupil forfeiting the match-up, their opponents in 11-Tsuji were handed the victory by default.

A back-and-forth competition ensued between 11-Torres and 11-Grande, with both sections having moments in the match. The first set ended in a wide-deficit win for 11-Torres, with the score listed as 15-3. In response to their loss in the first set, 11-Grande made the necessary adjustments and won the second set in a close 17-15 victory. As both sides won one set each, a tie-breaker emerged 11-Torres as the winner, scoring 15-6. 

FOOTBALL

Grade 11 sections from all strands held the football elimination rounds on the AJHS football fields A and B. 

Competitiveness was evident in the match between 11-Tsuji and 11-Grande, as both teams went back and forth in an attempt to score a goal. The game ended in a stalemate, with the score of both teams 0-0. As a tie-breaker, referees facilitated penalty kicks on both teams, which resulted in 11-Tsuji as the winner after scoring a goal.

Players of 11-Goupil were handed the winner by default against 11-Wright and advanced to the second round. 

After 11-Goupil was given a win by technicalities in the game prior, a match-up against 11-Campion took place. In a display of offensive prowess, players from 11-Goupil created multiple scoring opportunities for their teammates, resulting in several goals against 11-Campion. When the whistle was blown, the final score was 7 to 3, with 11-Goupil as the victors.

In a different bracket, 11-Moscoso and 11-Realino showed brilliance in defense and scoring. However, 11-Realino emerged as the winner after a close game, with the final score being 2-1.

Both teams in 11-Owen and 11-Nakaura displayed exchanges of offense, but none landed their mark until the final second. With the score tied at 0-0, a penalty kick shoot-out began. 11-Owen won the match after they scored against 11-Nakaura.

Maintaining their high-level performance from the game prior, 11-Realino won the match against 11-Bellarmino with a score of 7-3. 11-Bellarmino responded with their fair share of goals but these were not enough against the tenacity and offense of 11-Realino.

ULTIMATE FRISBEE

Match-ups for ultimate frisbee were located at the AJHS football fields C and D, divided into three games each.

The scheduled game between 11-Goupil and 11-Gavan was canceled, giving the players of 11-Gavan the victory by default. Their opponents in 11-Goupil forfeited due to a lack of participants heading into the match.

In a similar situation, 11-Torres forfeited the match, resulting in 11-Tsuji winning by default.

Tenacious performances were exhibited by 11-Perez and 11-Campion, with both sides’ offense covering ground as they scrambled for the disc. After a back-and-forth competition, 11-Perez edged out to secure the win.

Both teams exhibited great disc movement and defense in the match between 11-San Vitores and 11-Wright. 11-Wright won the game after outscoring 11-San Vitores 4-2 with more disc receptions in the opponent’s line.

Fierce competitions were exhibited by 11-Fontoura and 11-Hoyos as both sections had their moments of offense through accurately placed disc throws and receptions. In the end, 11-Fontoura were the victors over 11-Hoyos.

Following their win over 11-Hoyos, 11-Fontoura were matched against 11-Bellarmino, wherein the players’ disc movement earned them the victory.

October 13: Elimination rounds continue

BADMINTON

For the second round of eliminations, the badminton match-ups were held at the FLC’s badminton court.

A fair share of shining talents and close fights were shown on the court, especially between 11-Realino and 11-Borja—putting up a three-set game instead of the usual two in order to settle the match. In the end, 11-Realino came out on top, scoring 24-22, 17-21, 11-9 against 11-Borja.

On the other hand, the match between 11-Brebeuf and 11-San Vitores was forfeited, with the former automatically advancing instead. This was the case as 11-San Vitores only had one player in their roster, thus giving the win to 11-Brebeuf. 

Against 11-Escribano, 11-Wright was able to score a two-set win, scoring 21-8 and 21-5. Immediately after the match, Sarel Reyes and Matt Albeqerque of 11-Wright expressed that they were “excited and happy [as they] really do love playing badminton.”

Going into the sportsfest, they acknowledged that their competition might look a lot tougher in future rounds, as Alberqerque stated, “I guess we’ll just practice more.”

In another bracket, 11-Grande came out on top of 11-Campion in their match-up. 

During a post-match interview, both players of Grande expressed that despite their anxiousness heading into the contest, Jamie Castañeda and Alana Buenaventura of 11-Grande said that it “was fun and very challenging since [their] opponents were good.” In preparation for the sportsfest, they plan to practice during their free time.

BASKETBALL

The second day witnessed a big number of spectators at the basketball games, with simultaneous matches happening at courts two and five. 11-Tsuji dominated the first game, winning against 11-Gavan.

“When I was in [the] court po, my heart wouldn’t stop. I was very nervous po… But as soon as we scored some points na, we got better,” shared Zebastian Largo of 11-Tsuji.

Meanwhile, 11-Nakaura won against 11-Moscoso, but was later defeated by 11-Angelis.

The games ended with 11-Garnet, 11-Mayer, 11-Hurtado, and 11-Brebeuf taking the last tickets to the finals, besting 11-Wright, 11-Owen, 11-Perez, and 11-Hoyos, respectively.

CHESS

A myriad of strategies was present throughout the second day of chess match-ups. With several close games, it was a silent yet technical battle between the players.

Throughout the competitive rounds, 11-Torres, 11-Nakaura, 11-De Brito, 11-Fontoura, 11-Gavan, and 11-San Vitores prevailed over their opponents in 11-Tsuji, 11-Escribano, 11-Perez, 11-Mayer, 11-Hoyos, and 11-Wright, respectively.

The match-ups between winners of the previous games, namely, 11-Torres vs. 11-Angelis and 11-Escribano vs. 11-Wright, were re-scheduled to a later date since its participants were absent.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

VOLLEYBALL

With a remarkable amount of energy, the volleyball team of 11-Borja expressed their enthusiasm over their first match victory, cheering “First game, first win!”

When asked about how prepared they were, the team mentioned that they “do not even know how to play volleyball. It is [their] first time playing volleyball.”

Coming into the game, they gave credit to their opponent, 11-Mayer, saying, “We expected the enemy to be good and to have a good game against them, and props to them, [all of us] gave a good game for the audience […] We’re just thankful na we won talaga.”

FOOTBALL

Most sections had their first games on the second day of eliminations, held once again at the AJHS Football Field.

Returning as the winner from the first round of eliminations, 11-Owen was able to clinch a 2-0 victory against 11-Angelis on the field and would be advancing once again to the next round in three weeks.

On the other field, spectators witnessed a heated match between 11-Fontoura and 11-Garnet, with both teams initially scoring 0. However, the game finally concluded through a penalty shoot-out, where Fontoura found themselves earning the winning point and a ticket to the succeeding match.

“Honestly, before the game, I was not nervous at all. I had full confidence but when the game started, I started feeling the nerves, so what I did was just try to talk to my team, be as one ‘cause I know even if we lose, we lose as a team, and if we win, we win as a team..,” RJ Faller of 11-Fontoura stated.

Already in their second game of the elimination rounds, the team of 11-Goupil scored a critical 7-3 against their opponent, 11-Campion, on the field, and would be advancing to the next round.

In the match-up against the team of 11-Brebeuf, returning winners from the first round of eliminations, 11-Torres found themselves a decisive 5-1 score. 11-Torres earned a spot in the next round.

As a show of their tenacity and performance, the teams of 11-Mayer and 11-Borja found themselves at a 2-2 stalemate by the end of the time. 

In order to break the tie, the winner was decided through penalty kicks. 11-Mayer won the match and would advance to the next round.

Both playing their first games of the elimination rounds, the teams of 11-Escribano and 11-Gavan performed to the best of their abilities, with the former securing a 3-1 win.

Coming back from their victory in the first round, the team of 11-Realino scored a decisive 7-1 win against the team of 11-Bellarmino in the second round of games and would be advancing to the next match.

ULTIMATE FRISBEE

Between the sections of 11-San Vitores and 11-Wright, it was the former that finished on top, winning with a score of 4-2. 

With their performance on the field, the team of 11-Angelis won against 11-Tsuji with a score of 8-4. 

As for the other sections, many found themselves automatically advancing to the next round due to the lack of a complete team.

The teams of 11-Gavan, 11-De Brito, and 11-Escribano all won by default due to this technicality. Alongside the teams of 11-San Vitores and 11-Angelis, these four would be playing in the third round of games.

Road to Finals

With the Sportsfest Finals drawing closer, the winning teams have begun their preparations, sharing their plans to improve their game and claim the championship.

“Now having more experience playing with my teammates, we’ll definitely try to improve on our individual skills, as well as our collaboration. Practicing and strategizing together will be our key preparations, given that most of us have already gotten over that initial fear. Personally, I’ll try my best to ensure that I won’t repeat mistakes that occurred during the preparations and the actual game itself to fully maximize our experience in this year’s sportsfest,” 3×3 player Julia Rosero explained.

For football player RJ Faller, unity and cooperation are the priority points for their team.

“We’ll actually try to talk and be organized ‘cause this game was our very first game as one, as a team so we didn’t really know each other’s play styles. But I believe [in the] next game, we will be able to be more organized and win more easily,” he shared.