FOR THE 20TH time in a row, the San Beda Red Sea Lions’ men’s division in Season 99 of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Swimming Event took home the championship, while the women’s division secured their own ten-peat championship last December 15 at the Teofilo Yldefonso Swimming Pool of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.
The Red Sea Lions maintained their decades-long streak in the three-day interscholastic competition, mustering a total of 1,380 points in the men’s division, a notable lead over the first-runner-up, the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde (DLS-CSB), which had 725.7 points. Meanwhile, the women’s division garnered 1526.5 points, a staggering lead over the DLS-CSB’s 473 points, nearing a 1,000-point lead.
Angel Lynn Docabo stood at the forefront of the women’s division not only being the Most Valuable Player but also the athlete with the most medals, achieving five gold and two silver medals; awarded as the Most Outstanding Swimmer for topping four events (100-meter freestyle, 200-meter backstroke, 50-meter breaststroke, and 100-meter breaststroke) and the player with the most records broken.
Jake Evangelista was also awarded as the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the men’s division winning a total of four events (Individual 200-meter Long Course, Individual 400-meter Long Course, 50-meter backstroke, 100-meter backstroke)
When asked what their biggest obstacle was Lucio Cuyong II responded, “Our biggest obstacle is our own mindsets because coach wants us to be mentally tough. He wants us all of us to be strong for ourselves, mentally, physically. A lot of us are physically already prepared but mentally we can kind of cave in. It’s really up to us if we can muster up the courage to be mentally tough.”
It was through their dedication, as expressed by the athletes in having to wake up at 3am in the morning in spite of their academic responsibilities, and persistence in having reached this far in spite of the obstacles that made their victory possible.
(with Paolo Vital and Manssel Latonero)