University of Santo Tomas-Legazpi
The Premier Dominican University of Bicol
The Premier Dominican University of Bicol
After clinching a bag of medals at the regional games of the Private Schools Athletic Association (PRISAA), thirty-six Legazpi Thomasian athletes will join Team Bicol in the National PRISAA games to be held in Zamboanga City on July 13-19, 2023.
The players from UST-Legazpi will be participating in eight events for the senior division and five for the junior division.
A moment of firsts
Pressure filled the Center for Sports, Wellness, Culture and the Arts (CSWCA) during their final checks before flying to Zamboanga City. CSWCA Director Marie Veronique D. Berdin, MAEd said that it feels like it is the team’s first time to come to the PRISAA national games as everything went on halt for three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Adding to that pressure is the need to step up their playing performances after Bicol’s historic rank of placing 4th at the 2019 PRISAA Games held in Davao City.
“This time, we are aiming higher. It is the Bicol region’s goal to be at par with Western Visayas and other strong regions,” said Berdin.
“We prepared enough, I think. Kaya lang bilog ang bola. Baka tumaas, baka bumaba,” she continued.
The university also beams with pride with its new feats. For the first time, UST-Legazpi will be sending its whole women’s basketball, women’s badminton, men’s table tennis, senior high beach volleyball, and athletics teams to the nationals after a successful winning streak at the region games held last May 2023.
“We have a big delegation this year. So, the expectation of the community is high, too. We hope to give justice to what we prepared given that we will be playing against great athletes from other performing regions like the National Capital Region (NCR) and Western Visayas,” Madam Berdin added.
Right after the PRISAA regional games in May 2023, UST-Legazpi did not falter in training its athletes with higher intensity and a sharper focus to win medals. Another challenge that they have faced is building rapport with their teammates who come from other schools or provinces given their different skills in playing their sports.
Heading to the nationals
The Legazpi Thomasian team remains humble as always. According to Berdin, they are hopeful despite the fact that they started from zero after recovering from the pandemic. Adding to that, too, is the fact that they are sending the biggest delegation the university ever had by far, from the regional up to the national games.
“I consider this an achievement for our team at this point early,” she said.
Marie Veronique D. Berdin, MAEd, Director of the Center for Sports, Wellness, Culture and the Arts (CSWCA) takes a quick pose while processing final documents before the UST-Legazpi team goes to Zamboanga City
“What made me happy is that most of the members of the Bicol team came from UST-Legazpi with augmentation from other provinces or schools,” she added.
Still, they are, of course, aiming to bring home medals. Apart from that is the learnings that the team will be getting during the national games which will surely sharpen their skills.
“It’s a good way to benchmark and take a closer look at the winning teams, learn how they play their games, and apply the new techniques to the team for this new school year,” she continued.
Meanwhile, here’s UST-Legazpi’s National PRISAA Players:
SENIOR DIVISION
Athletics Men (1)
Head Coach: Arnold Beringuela
Badminton Women (3)
Head Coach: Ma. Luisa Buella, LPT
Basketball Women (10)
Head Coach: Melody Chua
Asst. Coach: Victoriano De Luna Jr
Basketball Women 3×3 (1)
Head Coach: Jose Miraflor Jr
Basketball Men 3×3 (4)
Head Coach: Victoriano De Luna Jr
Beach Volleyball Women (3)
Head Coach: Arnold Beringuela
Asst. Coach: Paolo Capobres
Table Tennis Men (4)
Head Coach: Kenneth Maligat
Vocal Duet (1)
Head Coach: Roger Fernandez
JUNIOR DIVISION
Athletics Girl (1)
Head Coach: Arnold Beringuela
Beach Volleyball Boys (3)
Head Coach: Arnold Beringuela
Asst. Coach: Paolo Capobres
Beach Volleyball Girls (3)
Head Coach: Arnold Beringuela
Asst. Coach: Paolo Capobres
Swimming Girls (1)
Coach: Jigoh Constantine Lucila
Swimming Boys (1)
Coach: Jigoh Constantine Lucila
Coaches and Staff