AdU’s Lentija, 2 UST jins share finest athlete award

ADAMSON softball star Michelle Lentija and University of Santo Tomas taekwondo jins Christian Al dela Cruz and Juan Miguel Ramos will share the highest individual honor when Season 75 of the UAAP formally comes to a close today.

The awarding ceremony kicks off at 12 noon, before the eight member-schools battle for the streetdance crown at 2 p.m. at SM City North Edsa Skydome.

Lentija clinched the Athlete of the Year plum after powering Adamson to a perfect softball season for the third straight year aside from playing a key role for the Team Manila squad that reigned in the 2012 Big League Softball World Series in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Similarly shining on the international front, Dela Cruz will share the top athlete award for winning the men’s welterweight gold in the 16th Asean University Games in Vientiane, Laos, just months after leading the Tigers to back-to-back UAAP taekwondo crowns.

Ramos will receive the same honor in the juniors division after towing the Tiger Cubs to a fourth straight title and competing in the 7th Korea Open taekwondo championships.

La Salle will also share the spotlight when it formally accepts the overall seniors division championship after bagging five titles—all delivered by its women’s teams.

The Archers, who snapped UST’s 14-year dominance in the league, amassed 293 points built around title runs in women’s volleyball, taekwondo, tennis, chess and table tennis.

The Archers hope to snare one more crown when the La Salle Dance Company Street guns for a third straight title in streetdance.