San Beda Red Jins and Lady Jins take 86th NCAA taekwondo crown

Photo credits: Jan Dizon

San Beda College stamped its domination in the 86th NCAA as it ruled both the men’s and women’s division of the taekwondo competitions at the Fil-Oil/Flying V Arena in San Juan City last Tuesday.

The Lions racked up a total of 421.5 points to topple the College of St. Benilde and retain the crown.

Rookie sensation Ron Alfred David, a product of Baguio City, emerged as the tournament MVP after coming out with the worthiest performance in the men’s side.

The Lionesses were not to be outdone as they ruled their division to become the first champion after women’s taekwondo was finally approved as a regular sport following a three-year stint as a demonstration event.

Reyna Alarva, who was later named MVP, spearheaded San Beda’s charge as the Lionesses amassed a total of 313.37, and survived the fierce challenge put by St. Benilde and Letran, which finished second and third with 262.5 and 234.8 points, respectively.

The double victory was a repeat of the reign of the juniors and collegiate varsity teams after reigning supreme in basketball with the Lions making history with a historic 18-game sweep of the tournament.

San Beda now has five titltes in the men's side alone with its other victories coming from table tennis and swimming that should boost its bid of cornering its first ever overall championship.


"The key in our triumph is hardwork and discipline, our rookies really stepped up," said San Beda assistant coach Dexter Cabradilla.