By Ms. Marti Leon, The Bosun
Like a dragon to its lair, alumni athletes returned to their alma mater on May 5, 2024, for Dragons Unite: The Homecoming Game, held at the UA&P Parking and Sports Building. With the goal to promote stronger ties between alumni and current athletes, the UA&P Center for Student Affairs (CSA) – Office of Sports Development (OSP) organized the one-day event jam-packed with performances, matches, and game booths.
A Call to Action
In an interview with Ms. Raffie Leon, Dragons Unite Project Head and former UA&P Women’s Volleyball Team Co-Captain, the project was initiated out of necessity to meet athletes’ needs. “As we know, the budget of the university for the sports program is only sufficient or sometimes even lacking for the athletes. The need to raise funds besides relying on the university’s budget arose.” The solution for this was the involvement of alumni athletes. According to Coach Mec Fajardo, OSP Head Coach, “OSP believes that a school with strong alumni ties has a successful sports program.”
Beyond financial aims, Fajardo explained that the ultimate objective is to provide alumni athletes the opportunity to reminisce about their university days, revisit the court they once called home, and bond with peers who share similar experiences.
As Leon stated, Dragons Unite aims to reignite and form long-term relationships between current and alumni athletes. Fajardo agreed, saying, “It’s an opportunity for them [the alumni] to talk to the young ones and talk about how much they had struggled, too and how they overcame the challenges back in the day.”
The event’s planning started in AY 2019-2020, only to be thwarted by the lockdown. OSP revived the initiative this AY 2023-2024, initiating preparations from the beginning of the academic year. Since then, they have interviewed preceding sports directors to research about the evolution of the UA&P Sports Program. They collected jerseys, trophies, and pictures to display in the Walk of Fame, a mini museum exhibiting the history of the OSP. A timeline was also created showcasing the past varsity teams and their accomplishments. This captured the attention of many alumni and current athletes alike, fascinated by how much the program has evolved, and honored to be a part of it.
The Historic Face-Off
On the day of the historic face-off between past and present athletes, the event launched with a Thanksgiving Mass held in Sancta Maria Stella Orientis. It was followed by the parade of athletes in the University Student Commons accompanied by the empowering drums of Wildfire. Next was the spectacular performance of the Firestarters joined by their fellow alumni. The opening program concluded with speeches by Jolo Valdez, the president of the UA&P Dragons Alumni Association and Coach Fajardo.
The much-awaited games were held in PSB. Listed below are the winners for each match.
Men’s Table Tennis – Current (Nico Estreba)
Women’s Table Tennis – Alumni (Jen Llait)
Women’s Basketball – Current Team (Cassie Villado, Lieka Lee, Sofia Fuentes, Gabbie Wong, Michayla Mappala, Lindsey Nacional, Kharel Siapoc)
Men’s Basketball – Current Team (Ron Qua, Seth Kimble, Jericho Perez, Travis Batino, Noah Armamento, Michel De Los Santos, Ryan Celis, Kevin Ang, Jaime Ramos, Carlos Castillo, Val Mercado, Shan Volante, Enrico Zapata, Iceley Manansala, Gian Chua, Stefano Solis)
Women’s Volleyball – Alumni Team (Micah Clemente, Syrisse Evangelista, Danielle De Leon, Marie Anne Gonzales, Maria Andrea Bautista, Gabie Trance, Ica Quisel, Marice Angela Marcelo)
Men’s Volleyball – Current Team (Cyd Manalo, Lance Solano, Josef De Veas, John Kenneth Hermoso, Lance Alonzo, John Anderson Hernandez, Erwin JR. Paner, Noli Baguitan III, Eisley Gatchalian, Robert Santos, Paolo Angelo Angeles, Mikael Javier, James Arciaga, Sam Arciaga, Kato Balagtas, V Arciaga, Tobey Perez, Jaime Calilung)
Women’s Futsal – Azuri Team (Christyl Rodriguez, Elaisa portez, Princess Cristobass, Jyn Ross Garovillo, April Moreno, Kyla Ogneta, Elle Perdoñio, Taif Salama, Jacquelline Ballares Josha, Fai Catubig, Milliscent Macatol, Segundo Saluria lll, Andrea Santos)
Men’s Futsal – Current Team (Donald John MacIndeor, Antonio Joaquin Lopez, Sebastien Christophe Paauw Monfort, Gabriel Andrei Bautista, Malakai Rei Feliciano, Lendell John Chan, Federico Emanuele Mangulabnan, Raphael Joshua Jimeno, Jose Hector Miguel Tarcisio Calilung, Charles Alexander)
Badminton – No Champion
The event concluded with a special performance by SQUADRA, the awarding, and an inspiring closing speech by Ms. Ally Restificar, the USG External Vice President. In her words, “As is the meaning of UNITAS, I hope that we can all rally together, not just in spirit, but in action.”
Connection through Culture
In an interview with Ms. Sofia Fuentes, the UA&P Women’s Basketball Team Captain expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to play with her fellow alumni. “The intense and competitive game was a learning experience for us, the younger athletes, as our alumni brought a lot of their experience and insights to the game. The Dragons Unite event was a great opportunity to connect with our ates, who share the UA&P WBT’s history and culture.” She knew that the homecoming game would be challenging, so she and her team prepared for it by practicing their plays everyday, and doing extra work on top of their training sessions.
Ms. Nicole Makalintal, the UA&P Women’s Futsal Team Captain, said that she and her team prepared by training with their alumni. “We prepared through our regular training sessions, and as our alumni sometimes join us in training, we were able to form connections and chemistry with them on the court.” She expressed her gratitude on behalf of the WFT to her fellow alumni for helping the team improve their way of playing during training, despite having a busy schedule: “Watching them play with their drive and passion is also really inspiring, and we hope to pass that down as well to the future WFTs.”
Ms. Ica Quisel, former Dragon of the Year and UA&P Women’s Volleyball Team Alumni, voiced her experience: “Going back home to PSB to play felt comforting–knowing that I had spent most of my stay at the university in that court and that the UA&P community will always be there to welcome its alumni back home.” Although she met her other alumni teammates only on the day itself, it was not difficult for her to adjust and play alongside them. She believes that it is because of the team’s culture that was passed on through the years. “I hope that your team’s wins and losses may inspire you and open the opportunity to strive harder. Always be there for your teammates. Keep on blazing a trail,” she imparted to the current team.
The Unitas Spirit
When asked to describe the overall experience of this historic event, Leon truthfully said that it was challenging given the amount of obstacles she and her organizing team encountered. “However, despite all these struggles, we’ve learned to love the work as we envisioned Dragons Unite. Just having each other working towards the same vision made us feel comfortable with the workload, knowing that we knew exactly what we wanted. There was no better team than this to work on the very first Dragons Unite,” she elaborated. Fajardo shared the same sentiments saying how the team even considered canceling the event but “as the days went by, and we slowly started to see the support from the alumni and some varsity teams, we knew we had to make it happen.”
Dragon’s Unite: The Homecoming Game served as a catalyst for the Office of Sports Development and all the UA&P athletes to move forward alongside their alumni. In the words of Fajardo: “OSP has big dreams for its athletes and knowing that the alumni are just waiting to be ‘tapped’ means so much already. Being tapped does not just mean asking for financial support; it goes way beyond that presence during training sessions, during games, and even during OSP-initiated events means a lot more, and I’m sure the athletes would agree with me on this. I hope we continue supporting the student-athletes because they, too, are ambassadors of the university. They battle their hearts out just to represent the school well.”
Beyond competition, Dragons Unite transformed the playing field into an opportunity to bond and foster something greater than mere victory. It is a testament to how the spirit of Unitas persists long after an alumni graduates and is passed down through generations. A day of nostalgia, sportsmanship, and heartfelt camaraderie, the 5th of May 2024, is significant in UA&P history.
The Bosun is the official student publication of the University of Asia and the Pacific.
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