Benilde jins seek to defend NC titles

MANILA, Philippines - Defending champion College of St. Benilde braces for a tough outing as it goes for a back-to-back sweep of the three titles in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) taekwondo tournament kicking off tomorrow at the San Juan Arena.

“We will always go for the title. The school is very supportive. The brothers and the rest of the Benildean community are all behind us. It’s going to be a tough grind, but we will give it our best shot,” Benilde coach Stephen Fernandez said.

With former champions San Beda and Letran vowing to come back strong in the upcoming season, it will indeed be a grueling climb to the top for the CSB jins, who swept the men’s, women’s and juniors titles in last year’s NCAA hostilities.

Eight weight categories will be up for grabs and expectations are high for the defending champions to score a repeat on a team teeming with talent.

“There are no national players in our roster this year but we have promising newcomers and we are looking at it as a challenge,” said Fernandez. “Nevertheless, we are aiming for back-to-back titles and our minds are set on it.”

He picks San Beda and Letran as the teams to beat this year with San Sebastian fast catching up and the other schools also expected to shine.

CSB has been a force to reckon with in taekwondo since the sport’s inclusion in the NCAA calendar. After three consecutive runner-up finishes, St. Benilde unleashed its fiery form and came out smoking last year, winning all the divisions.

“Retaining the championship is very tough because all the other schools are definitely going after us. But we are confident that we have all the tools needed to fight and win. At the end of the day we just have to fight hard and survive,” coach Roberto “Kitoy” Cruz, a six-time SEA Games gold medalist, said.

The CSB jins underwent tremendous buildup for this year’s meet although injuries to key players might slow down their title retention drive following reports that three of the schools’ key players have been sidelined to injuries sustained during practice.

Meanwhile, coaching will also be a factor in their title repeat with CSB boasting of veteran mentors who have shared their expertise with their respective wards.

Fernandez had been in the forefront of De La Salle’s taekwondo campaign for 23 solid years, starting as a playing coach in 1986 for the De La Salle Greenhills. In 1989, he became a regular coach of the DLSU-Taft before taking over the reins of the CSB varsity team in 1998, leading the team to decent finishes during the taekwondo demo years in the NCAA.

A two-time Olympian during his prime, Fernandez competed in various international competitions, winning gold and bronze medals in the Southeast Asian Games and finishing strong in his last fight at the ‘92 Barcelona Olympics. He also represented the country in the ‘88 Asian Taekwondo Championships in Nepal.

The soft-spoken Cruz, on the other hand, has the distinction of being the only Filipino jin to win an unprecedented six consecutive gold medals in the SEA Games. Probably the most-feared fighter during his competitive years, Cruz was on the national team since elementary and has made a name for himself by demolishing every opposition both in the local and international arena.

“My role on the team is to hand down to the athletes my experience and to update them on the new techniques. Scoring now gives more emphasis on the head and that’s what I’m trying to teach them,” said Cruz, who was tapped as coach after leading Benilde’s ascent to the top.  

 “We don’t want them to be over confident but we don’t want them either to be laid back. Taekwondo is not only a physical sport. Half of the game is mental, and preparations plays a very important factor,” Fernandez said.

Competing on a higher level is one thing, but defending the championship is another. Faced with an array of equally determined opposition, the defending champions are raring to duplicate their last year’s feat.