UP halts DLSU rally, captures three-peat in National Ultimate Collegiate Championship

University of the Philippines Diliman defended their ultimate frisbee title after beating De La Salle University Manila 15-10, thus completing a three-peat by winning the third National Ultimate Collegiate Championship (NUCC) on Sunday.

The Diliman squad snapped a late rally by the Taft team, recovering from a scoring slump which saw DLSU go from a six-point deficit to 11-10 at the Greenfield City Sports Field in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

With no time limit in the race to 15, play in between points stretched as both teams moved the disc safely mid-game. DLSU then started their recovery with UPD pinned at 11 points. But the challengers began to fatigue as the defending champions picked up the pace, with UP nailing La Salle at 10 for the rest of the game.

This was UPD and DLSU’s second finals meeting since the first NUCC at Circulo Verde in 2012, where Diliman beat the Taft squad 14-11 for the title.

Last year, Diliman thrashed University of Santo Tomas at home, winning 15-5 for their second NUCC title at the UP Sunken Garden.

Battling for third place in Pool A, UP Los Baños swiftly dismantled Ateneo De Manila University, 9-2.

In Pool B action, Centro Escolar University beat the University of Asia and the Pacific 13-6 for the top spot, while Far Eastern University bested Malayan Colleges Laguna 9-5 for a podium finish.

For the first time, NUCC also featured high school teams. Philippine Science High School emerged on top of the HS open division, followed by Southridge and Ateneo High School. For the women’s division, Miriam College topped the three-team category.

UP Diliman’s NUCC three-peat extends their ultimate frisbee championship streak to four. The team won the Inter-College Frixbee Championship in 2011, the current tournament’s predecessor. - AMD, GMA News