The University of Santo
Tomas (UST) Tiger-Dragons rowing crew snared a rare grand slam April 16
for being adjudged inter-collegiate division champions of the fourth
leg of the 2006-2007 Philippine Dragon Boat Federation Annual
Championship Regatta at the Baywalk, on Roxas Boulevard, Manila.
The Tiger-Dragons got the title four times in a row.
UST team captain Paolo Cerin said the UST Tiger-Dragons Rowing Crew
capped this year’s season by a convincing win, their fourth of the
season, and getting their fifth straight pennant.
Cerin said the UST team is the first team in Philippine dragon boat
history to accomplish such a feat since the start of the
inter-collegiate dragon boat races, where rowing teams from all over
the Philippines battle for the championship in three different
divisions.
With an official time of 2:18:30 for a 500-meter race course, the
Tiger-Dragons ruled the inter-collegiate finals followed seven seconds
later by De La Salle University-Team A at 2:25:08, the University of
the Philippines at 2:25:39, and the De La Salle University-Team B at
2:46:51.
San Beda College, last season's defending champion, did not make it into this year’s standings.
Cerin said the victory was achieved in spite of the grueling races the crew had to take part in.
The team also managed to claw its way up into the top of the standings
of the Open Men’s Division where they faced elite teams from Camarines
Sur, the Philippine Navy, Philippine National Police (PNP), and
Philippine Dragon Boat Rowing Team.
“The team participated in more races than any other team did in this
(day’s) races. In one instance, they had to practically get off one
boat and load the other for the next race," Cerin said.
The UST Tiger-Dragons Men’s Crew also made team history after
registering their team's best time ever at 2:12:43 in the open men’s
division, coming in second behind the Camarines Sur Dragonboat Team
which clocked in at 1:59:26.
This personal best led the UST Rowers to qualify in the finals of the
men’s open division for the first time since their foundation, Cerin
said.
The Camarines Sur Dragonboat Team, however, proved that they are still
the best, when they came in first with a time of 2:04:92, followed by
the the PNP Patriots at 2:05:81, the Philippine Dragonboat Rowing Team
(PDRT) at 2:08:70, the Philippine Navy at 2:09:57, the 1925 Paddlers
Club at 2:17:50, and lastly by the Tiger-Dragons who clocked in at
2:23:99.
Cerin said that the team’s entry into the finals landed the UST
Tiger-Dragons Men’s Crew at the fifth overall spot in the national
men’s open division annual standing, the only junior team to break into
the top-10.
“Making it into the finals was already a great accomplishment! Sure, we
didn’t finish first (in the men’s open division) but just being able to
race and be among the top teams in the Philippines was more than
enough. We trained for this, we did our best, we gave our all, and I am
completely satisfied! But I know, we could do better and accomplish
more if we train harder." says UST team captain, Paolo Cerin when asked
what he thought of his crew’s performance.
The Tiger-Dragons was founded in September of 2005 by architect Christopher Cueto and Leah Panganiban.
In the short span of time since then, the team has already won five out
of eight local inter-collegiate championship titles and brought home
two bronze medals from International Dragon Boat races held in Malaysia
and China in June and October of 2006 respectively.
They continue to dominate the national scene and are perennial
representatives of the country to international inter-collegiate dragon
boat championships.
Because of their winning tradition, the Team has been invited this year
to compete in the prestigious Hong Kong International Dragon Boat
Races, Indonesia Dragon Boat Races, the 18th Thailand International
Swan Boat Races, and the International Dragon Boat Races for University
Students in China. - GMANews.TV
