The Blazing Gears are the royalties of rattan ball!

via Andrea M. Palaje, The Bullhorn

photo by Lhyca Santiago

Colleges and campuses exchanged powerful kicks and highest jumps for the battle on Sepak Takraw Men and Women Championship, Thursday, October 17, at the Bulacan State University (BulSU) Activity Center.

The College of Industrial Technology (CIT) Blazing Gears edged out College of Education (CoEd) Blue Flames, to maintain hold of the lead for Men’s Sepak Takraw championship.

The cold-hued Flames took the first set with a confident performance, winning 15–12. However, the heated Gears quickly adapted and mounted an incredible comeback, dominating the next two sets and second bracket set that secured them a victory.

The victorious declaration of said competition was considered historic for the championing team as they were hailed back-to-back champions for Sepak Takraw Men’s category in their Intramurals history.

Blazing Gears’ Justin Manzano talked about their preparation in keeping the legacy of former players: “[Ang] pinaka kasi talaga namin goal is pagiging champion ng CIT. Lalo na sa aming mga first year, medyo may pressure. Kasi, dahil nga laging champion ang CIT. So ‘yung naging preparation namin [ay] training lang lagi, tapos tiyaga lang lagi sa training.”

“Makikita naman natin ‘yung payback ng pagte-training natin ng matiyaga,” Manzano stressed.

Meanwhile, Mark Angelo Garcia from Blue Flames accepted the defeat wholeheartedly despite the rigorous practice beforehand, “Talagang nagsikap kami para makarating sa championship, but talagang kinapos sa players, then talagang hindi para samin.”

On the side of the Women’s Sepak Takraw championship, the Gears once again took home the gold as they won two consecutive sets, 9–15, 15–9, against the College of Business Education and Accountancy Magnates that claimed the bronze spot.

The College of Engineering Red Ants bagged silver after beating College of Criminal Justice Education Lex Libras on two sets, 15–12 and 15–6.

A CIT representative talked about how she felt after the team got the gold, “Syempre masaya kasi, for the first time ulit na nanalo kami ngayon and masaya. Syempre meron pa rin, kami yung may hawak ng kampyonato ngayon. May eagerness pa rin kami na manalo next year.” Red Ants’ Erika Cristobal, a first-timer in the competition, discussed the strategies that placed them on the silver title “After po nung tryout namin, nag-training po agad kami. Pagkatapos po ng tryout po namin, nag-sched po agad kami ng training.”

“Kaming tatlo po, so parang ‘yung bond po namin ‘yun po ‘yung naging inspiration po namin para mas galingan pa,” Cristobal added.

Here is the list of winners in the Men’s and Women’s Sepak Takraw:

Men’s Sepak Takraw Gold: College of Industrial Technology Silver: College of Education Bronze: College of Sports, Exercise and Recreation

Women’s Sepak Takraw Gold: College of Inductrial Technology Silver: College of Engineering Bronze: College of Business Education and Accountancy