MANILA – John Michael Castro proved to be a worthy catch for University of Santo Tomas as the Tigers captured the UAAP Season 81 men’s table tennis crown on Monday at the University of the Philippines College of Human Kinetics gym in Diliman.
Recruited during the offseason, the Bacolod City native played a key role in the Tigers’ two-game sweep over dethroned champions National University Bulldogs in the best-of-three finals.
Castro was later hailed the Rookie of the Year while teammate Paul Que took home the Most Valuable Player award. Danhill Monares and Sean Sabay were also part of the Tigers team.
“Like what I said before the season started, we are really looking forward to this championship because of our long preparation,” said Castro, who was recruited by the UST while playing for Western Visayas in Palarong Pambansa.
It was a double celebration for the UST table tennis players as the Golden Tigresses also claimed the title in the women’s division by beating four-time defending champions De La Salle University Lady Archers.
Shaeena Ronquillo sealed the championship for the Golden Tigresses after escaping La Salle’s Jhona Marie Go 11-5, 6-11, 11-8, 9-11, 11-6. Kathrina Tempiatura was awarded the MVP in the distaff side.
The Tigers remained the winningest team in the UAAP men’s table tennis history with 27 championships while the Golden Tigresses also had the most number of championships with 13./PN
