Even without Barbosa, NU off to strong start in UAAP taekwondo

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="NU" s="" Sturdy="" Gilbuena.="" UAAP="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/sports/11/29/uaap-86-kyorugi-sturdy-gilbuena-nu.jpg"/><figcaption>NU&#x27;s Sturdy Gilbuena. UAAP Media.</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA -- Even without Olympian and reigning Most Valuable Player Kurt Barbosa, National University is off to a great start in the UAAP Season 86 Taekwondo Kyorugi championships.Sturdy Gilbuena swept his three matches on Day 1 to steer the four-time defending champions to the lead in the men&#x27;s division with a 3-0 slate, Tuesday evening at the Marikina Sports Complex.Lightweight Gilbuena, the Season 82 Rookie of the Year-Most Valuable Player awardee, opened his account with a pace-setting 2-0 (6-1, 9-2) win over University of the Philippines&#x27; Kyle Laroya.He then followed it with a dominant 2-0 (13-0, 12-0) clinic past Ateneo de Manila University&#x27;s Emmanuel Borja before taking care of Far Eastern University&#x27;s Romar Javier, also at 2-0 (4-2, 2-1).The Bulldogs stepped into the lead with a 3-0 win-loss card with Gilbuena at the helm, as the powerhouse University of Santo Tomas Male Tiger Jins also ended the day undefeated after two contests to take the lead in the standings.NU, who also drew a solid performance from national team standout Kurt Pajuelas in the bantamweight, &#x27;swept&#x27; FEU and Ateneo at 6-1 after a 5-2 win over UP and dealt with a surprise upset of Dex Ian Chavez in the flyweight from Fighting Maroon Vince Yango.On the other hand, last season’s top student-athlete from the high school ranks, Legolas Peñaredondo, impressed in his collegiate debut to put UST in a two-contest romp of UP, 6-1, and DLSU, 4-3.The FEU Tamaraws also captured two wins against Ateneo, 6-1, and DLSU, 4-3, to go with a lone 1-6 defeat from NU, keeping in step with the unscathed leaders with a 2-1 win-loss card.On the women&#x27;s side, Reign Ragutana and the rest of the UST Female Tiger Jins commenced their title-retention bid unbeaten with three dominant wins: two 7-0 sweeps of the FEU Lady Tamaraws and the UP Fighting Maroons and one with a 6-1 result against the Ateneo Blue Eagles.Ragutana, last season&#x27;s top rookie, was lording it over the welterweight division for UST with a calculated victory past Daganan of FEU, 2-0 (6-0, 3-1) and in a thriller of a second round over Riana Navarra of UP, 2-0 (8-3, 11-9), to go with a default win as Ateneo has no player fielded in the said weight category.The NU Lady Bulldogs, champions from Seasons 80 to 82, also remained undefeated but at 2-0 on the strength of a solid 5-2 win over the FEU Lady Tamaraws and a 6-1 rout of the De La Salle University Lady Green Jins.De La Salle, though, managed to take two victories over UP and FEU, both in 5-2 finishes, to stay within striking distance of the leaders UST and NU at a 2-1 win-loss record.

National University is off to a great start in the UAAP Season 86 Taekwondo Kyorugi championships.

Even without Barbosa, NU off to strong start in UAAP taekwondo | ABS-CBN

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Even without Barbosa, NU off to strong start in UAAP taekwondo

Even without Barbosa, NU off to strong start in UAAP taekwondo

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 29, 2023 05:50 PM PHT

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