UAAP fetes Gomez, Tigers season's best

MANILA, Philippines - Grandmaster John Paul Gomez was named UAAP’s Athlete of the Year for his sterling performance here and abroad last year.

The 22-year-old Gomez dished out a solid stint in the 2008 World Chess Olympiad in Dresden, Germany to become the country’s newest GM then annexed a record fifth straight MVP in the UAAP to beat fellow La Sallian Patrick John Tierro of tennis and track and field’s Ben Alejandrino of Santo Tomas for the top UAAP award.

The UAAP feted Gomez, a senior mechanical engineering student at La Salle, along with the other top performers in various sports in glittering rites at the Bahay ng Alumni at the UP-Diliman campus last night.

Tierro was a member of the Davis Cup team that trounced Hong Kong in their Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Zone Group II tie, 4-1, recently while Alejandrino captured a gold medal in the Association of Southeast Asian Nation Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The UST Tigers also received their 36th seniors and 11th juniors general championships – both league bests.

UP also turned over the hosting rights to Far Eastern U, which has already started preparations for Season 72 set to unfold in July.

Last year’s Athlete of the Year fencer Michelle Bruzola of UE, cagers Rabeh Al-Hussaini of Ateneo and Marichu Bacaro of UST, spiker Manilla Santos of La Salle and tanker Luica Dacanay, also a former UAAP Athlete of the Year, of UP were also honored.

Others who were feted were Adamson’s Marvin Malig (baseball) and Cloeine Muyco (softball), UE’s Winston Aquilo (badminton) and Racquel Guerrero (badminton), La Salle’s Aices Salvador (chess);

UST’s Harris Orendain (fencing), Caryn Pilongo (taekwondo), Nikki Manalo (tennis), Bernadita Mag-aso (track and field), Rey Karl Dimaculangan (volleyball), Henry James Pecaña (beach volleyball), Jurrie Bernardino (taekwondo), Glen Rodriguez (table tennis) and Mary Cres Ignacio (football); UP’s John Edward Rances (football) and Ada Estanislao (judo), Ateneo’s Paulo Luz (judo), La Salle’s Ernest Dee (swimming), and FEU’s Beverly Villar (table tennis) and Anna Abanto (beach volley).

UST spiker Alissa Valdez won the Athlete of the Year plum in the high school side.