By Lordom Grecia (Class 2021)

The UP College of Medicine (CM) volleyball team, also known as the UP Med Aces, defeated the College of Dentistry (CD) in a thrilling three-set match for their opening stint in the university-wide sports competition Bakbakan: Trese, held last February 14, 2019 at the UP Manila Sports Science and Wellness Center (SSWC).

Despite giving up the first set 24 to 26, CM was able to recover and take the next 2 sets 25-20 and 15-7.

The UPCM football team, also known as FC Medisina, likewise won their opening game for Bakbakan: Trese against the College of Public Health (CPH) held last February 21, 2019 at the SSWC. FC Medisina led 2-1 at the half, and got another goal in the second half to win the game 3-1.

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Volleyball

The UP Med Aces are looking to defend their back-to-back championships, with a deeper bench owing to a lot of new blood joining the team. For their opening game in this year’s campaign, the team started with some of their best players, knowing that the CD team will be a challenging first opponent.

The UP Med Aces opened with Lester Morales (2023), Raphael Fudolig (2022), JP Ladera (2020), Henzor Dauigoy (2021), Zora de la Peña (2021), setter Rona Canlas (2024), and libero Jerm Angobung (2022). CM started strong, scoring off attacks from the middle and left side, service aces, and kill blocks, giving them an early seven-point lead at 9-2. Errors haunted the CM team and allowed the CD team to slowly catch up and regain their footing, despite CM regaining the 7-point lead in the middle of the set. CM was at set point, but another error brought the score to a deuce (24-all), and CM eventually lost the first set 24 to 26 after yet another error.

Raring to fight back after the first set, the CM team made changes to their lineup, starting the second set with Morales, Dauigoy, Ladera, Pibelle de Chavez (2022), and Benjo Olaño-Sosa III (2019), with Angobung as libero and Fudolig this time as the setter. CM again had an early lead from solid attacking, blocking, and services. Errors continued to plague the team and kept the scores close. Ladera and Morales heated up in the middle of the set and gave CM a 6-point lead, but CD was not going down without a fight. CD had well-placed shots and kill blocks, and a service ace forced CM to call for time as the CM lead was cut down to a point, 18-17. Sosa and Dauigoy came out of the timeout roaring, scoring off powerful attacks. CM took the set home 25-20 and forced a third and final set.

Despite the team’s deep bench, they decided to start the final set with the same players. Hungry for the win, the team had loaded services and powerful attacks, dominating the final set. Fudolig had back-to-back aces following a timeout from CD, and back-to-back aces from Dauigoy ended the set 15-7. Class 2022’s Raphael Fudolig was named player of the game by the organizers.

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Futsal

FC Medisina opened this year’s campaign with a hard-earned win against the College of Public Health. CM started with Julian Buban (2021), Macky Camagay (2020), JR Sta. Maria (2020), Seiko Hashimoto (2020), and goalkeeper GV Vistal (2019).

Hashimoto had a goal in the first few minutes of the game, and gave CM a 1-0 lead. CM continued to be aggressive, and Buban was able to get a solid goal several minutes later. CPH tried to counter, but Vistal was able to keep the ball out of the goal. CM had several more decent attempts at the goal, but couldn’t quite get it in. CPH was able to get one in near the end of the half, which ended 2-1 in favor of CM.

During the half-time break, the team had a huddle and discussed their game plan. They started the second half with Buban, Camagay, Bea Constantino (2020), Jr Castor (2023), and goalkeeper Nathan Gan (2022).

Both the CM and CPH teams played more aggressively in this half. Several attempts from Buban, Castor, and Constantino were well-defended by the CPH goalkeeper. Sta. Maria got a free kick, but it went wide, and Constantino had an attempt that barely missed the goal. Sta. Maria was able to get a goal soon after, giving CM the lead 3-1. CPH turned up the heat, but Gan kept his cool and was able to save some of the more solid attempts from CPH. Castor had a clean shot at the goal in the last minute, but the shot went over the goal. In the last play, CPH almost got a goal but it went through the side and wasn’t counted. The game ended 3-1 in favor of CM. The organizers named JR Sta. Maria (2020), Seiko Hashimoto (2020), and Julian Buban (2021) players of the game for each getting a goal for CM.

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Both the UP Med Aces and FC Medisina are defending their titles from last year’s Bakbakan: OverDOSE. If their opening games are any indication, they seem poised to do just that.

The UP Med Aces swept last year’s competition, with a clean 6-0 record in the eliminations and winning the semifinals and championship matches, and they look ready to keep the streak going this year. Their next match is against the College of Pharmacy and currently scheduled for March 7.

FC Medisina gave up 2 games in last year’s eliminations, but they still won the championship. They’re ready for this year’s Bakbakan and are hoping for a better record in the eliminations, but the ultimate goal is to defend their title. They’re slated to face the Freshie Team in their next game, scheduled for March 5 as of writing.

Both teams competed in the first day of GIlas: Palarong Medisina 2019 held at the Ateneo de Manila University last February 17. They will continue to compete for the second and final day of Palarong Medisina 2019 this coming Sunday, February 24, still at the Ateneo de Manila University. The men’s volleyball team will have the last game for the eliminations, which will determine whether they’ll play in the quarterfinals. The women’s volleyball team completed a sweep of the eliminations and are the top seed in their bracket going in to the quarterfinals. The men’s football team has 3 more games in their bracket to determine who will qualify for the semifinals. The women’s football team won 3 of their 4 games and have qualified for the semifinals against UERM.

Special thanks to Shai Villanueva (Class 2021) and Anja Cawaing (Class 2022).