MANILA – Jerom Lastimosa and Xiandi Chua headline a number of University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) players who will receive special awards from the league for their participation in the recent Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Phnom Penh during Season 85's closing ceremonies on Saturday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Lastimosa, Adamson's current King Falcon, was part of the Gilas Pilipinas lineup that reclaimed the gold medal in the men's 5x5 basketball event after losing it to Indonesia last year in Hanoi.
On the other hand, Chua, a member of La Salle's swimming team, broke the SEA Games record in the women's 200-meter backstroke event after ruling the final at a time of two minutes and 13.2 seconds.
Other SEA Games gold medalists to be feted are National University's (NU) Kurt Barbosa for taekwondo, University of Santo Tomas' (UST) Maria Nicole Labayne and Aidalane Laxa for poomsae, University of the East's (UE) Mecca Cortizano for obstacle course racing and University of the Philippines' (UP) Erika Burgos for aquathlon.
A total of 73 UAAP student-athletes competed for Team Philippines in the 32nd SEA Games.
The closing rites begin with the return of the street dance event at 2 p.m.
The La Salle Dance Company-Street finally gets to defend its street dance title after a four-year wait, while fellow top contenders Company of Ateneo Dancers and UP Streetdance Club look to bring the street dance championship back to Quezon City.
Also joining are the NU Dance Company, FEU Street Alliance, UST-Prime, and Adamson University Dance Company-Street.
Meanwhile, it's a three-way battle in the high school division as UST-Galvanize will defend its title against Adamson University Dance Company-Street SHS and FEU-X.
During the ceremony, the league will award the Athlete of the Year in Team and Individual Sports in the High School and College Divisions, as well as the High School and College General Champions.
Adamson University will then pass on the hosting responsibilities to UE, which will oversee Season 86. (PNA)
