Trident Ultimate Battle Grounds 2019. A Well Balanced Battlefield
Well, I’ll be dang!
The Trident Ultimate Battle Grounds 2019 has reached all
expectations. I know that it’s going to be great, but it did not come to mind that it is going to be this epic. The fourth edition of UBG was without a doubt the biggest Single Gender tournament outside of The PFDA Nationals. 10 teams for the women’s division that features Team Extreme (Dumaguete), Niñas (Cebu), Amazons (Iligan) Blacklist (Dumaguete), and Sunken Pleasure (Manila). 20 teams for Men’s with headliners Iliganons (Iligan), Sunken Pleasure (Manila), Davao United (Davao), Niños (Cebu), Vicious (Manila), Extreme (Dumaguete), and Blacklist (Dumaguete) just to name a few teams that made the weekend in Dumaguete, a weekend of high spirited battles. Definitely a tournament stacked with great names and talents. Up until the finals, we really don't know who will win the trophy in both divisions.
Stats don't lie.
The moment the gates were opened for Battle, the teams went off like crazy, showcasing what they were capable of doing. Every point was being cheered on, every game was a must win. I have never seen and felt that kind of energy before. Usually Day 1 was the “Testing the Waters” kind of day in Philippine tournaments. But in UBG, they treat day 1 like the last day of the knockout round. It always feels like all teams in both divisions were there to prove something. At the end of day 1 and when the stat sheets were back on the table, there were quite a few teams who finished the day with a zero loss record. Sunken Pleasure of Manila had a tough day 1, same with Extreme, and even Iliganons and Niños scored a loss. Vicious on the other hand had a perfect day. The Women’s division was controlled by Team Blacklist with a clean slate of 4-0, but the rest of the teams managed to tally a loss or two. The battlefield was balanced.
The Quarters Of Hell.
With a clear mind and heart (No hangover. It was actually pretty nice for a change), and with the fields of Daro covered with curtains of dust that made some of the photos look dramatic and dirty at the same time, I tackled Day 2 with high expectations. I was expecting a couple of games in both divisions to go down the wire. But I was dead wrong. It was without a doubt the toughest quarterfinal round I’ve ever covered. In the Men’s division alone, 4 pitches with 4 intense games simultaneously. Extreme v Davao United, Iliganons v Bulks, SP v Vicious, Blacklist v Niños. It was so hard to set your focus on one game. I tried to stay in the middle of three pitches, but every time I focused my attention at the SP-Vicious game, the action was at the Extreme-Davao United side. I switched my camera on the Blacklist-Niños game, the moment I was there waiting for something to happen, a loud cheer came on the Iliganons-Bulks game. It was crazy. The Women’s quarterfinals between SP girls and the Amazons was also one of the best games of the tournament. It was the battle of the top two women’s team in the country. Everyone was waiting for that matchup. The crowd was totally into it. It felt like all my energy was drained out after those fantastic set of games. It was tough, but it was all worth it.
It will never be UBG without them stories.
I always say that there’s something about Boracay Open that makes that tournament special. Same with the Battle Grounds. There’s something about UBG that teams and individual players travel for 16 hours just to be in Dumaguete and compete. That players will do everything just to be part of the weekend’s shenanigans. That every point missed, they need to make sure that it won’t happen again, and that they will do everything in their power to take back that point.
Davao United traveled for 16 hours, fighting for the top spot with not much rest and sleep under the Dumaguete heat. It was also Silliman University’s Graduation weekend. I saw a couple of players who graduated and immediately went to the fields to be with their teams and played the remaining games still wearing their makeup. During the semi-final round of the Women’s division, a player cried her heart out after a successful assist to her teammate for the score, later I learned that she made a bad pass that caused them a point. Later in the game, she fought back and manages to take that point back. One of the best stories of the weekend was seeing Nikko play for Niñas. If you read my facebook post a few days ago, then you know what happened.
UBG will never be the same without these Ultimate stories. Ultimate in the Philippines. It’s something.
The Finals.
After a tremendous win against the National Champions, Iligan Amazons, the 2018 UBG Women’s Champs Cebu Niñas will try to defend their title against the young guns of Team Extreme girls. It was a close battle in the first few points of the game, but Team Extreme was just too tough to handle in the end. With players like CM Absin, Angel Callao, Angelli Luzuriaga, Coreen Villanueva and the seasoned Extreme leader, Ella Mae “Mimi” Balancar, it only shows that Team Extreme girls is one of the strongest Women’s teams in the Visayas, and maybe in the country as a whole. Team Extreme dominated and brought home the women’s trophy.
Like I said earlier, Sunken Pleasure had a rusty day 1, and even during their first game in Day 2, they had a pretty bad start that caused them to lose the game against home team Blacklist, putting them on a bad spot to face the undefeated Sid Vicious. For some reason they found their footing and went on to win the intense quarterfinal game against their fellow Manila team. Facing the hungry Davao United in the semis, The Orangemen showed everyone why they are the defending National Champions winning the game at the Silliman Ball field with Authority.
Iliganon’s also had a rough start in day 1. They even had a pretty bad beating against The Niños, losing the game 11-1. But Then again, knowing the boys from Iligan, they will never back down without a fight. After grabbing an impressive win against a tough Bulks team in the quarters, Iliganons went on to win their rematch against Niños in the semi-final round of Pool A of the Men’s Division to face Sunken Pleasure in the Finals.
With an almost packed grandstand, SP and Iliganons went on to battle it out for the last time. Right before the game, I had a chance to chat with Bullet and Chin, telling them that for the past 3 UBG’s all pool A Men’s Finals ended in Universe point. That the crowd was so into it, that you will feel the energy and the passion of the provincial ultimate scene. Well, for the 4th straight year, UBG Men’s Finals ended in an exciting Universe point fashion.
Iliganons were up by two 11-9 when they made a couple of errors, giving Sunken Pleasure a chance to score for two straight points. A third error from the boys in Blue gave the Orangemen hope to win the game after scoring and taking the lead from Iliganons, 12-11. Iliganon’s retaliated immediately to tie the game at 12. The crowd went ballistic, cheering and screaming after they all heard that there’s no time remaining. Sunken Pleasure made a huge turn over giving Iliganon’s the final play of the tournament as Teejay sent the rushing Rico to the end zone for the win.
Iliganons is your Trident Ultimate Battle Grounds 2019 Pool A Men’s Division Champions.
It was without a doubt one of the best
weekends in Philippine Ultimate and easily UBG is at the top 5 best tournaments
of the year in the country. Trident and the NFDA did something special there in
Dumaguete. Big congratulations and thank you for giving us a wonderful weekend.
As we close down the gates of the Battlefield,
Here’s to more successful Ultimate Battle Grounds in the future. That was
definitely one for the books.
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