Cocoy Marcelino

     Fifteen years of experience, an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, a chemistry and materials science major, and one of the best defenders to play the sport soccer.

     Cocoy Marcelino is an all-around athlete. He was a varsity player for multiple sports during his high school days, but the sport that he enjoys most is soccer.It has always been his passion. According to him he believes that anyone is entitled to enjoy the game of his life. It doesn't matter where you're from, how you were raised or which family you come from, as long as you share that passion for the sport you love. "It breaks language barriers, shows racial equality and definitely changes lives." He is certainly someone who doesn't just seek the benefit for himself, but he thinks of the wellfare of others as well.

     Being in the course that majors in chemistry and materials science alone is already an eduring task for an Ateneo student, but he did not let this hinder him from representing his school by playing the sport he loves most. As a soccer vasity, he is required to train at 5:45am almost every morning, which definitely drains him for the rest of the day, but somehow he finds a way to balance it out. Cocoy said that "Being a student-athlete, is one of the most of grueling yet most rewarding journeys one can go through college". He may sound like a superhero, but just like other superheroes, Cocoy also has his support group, which for him is his family, friends, and teammates, who are there to remind him of the things he needs to accomplish. According to him, his everyday schedule is really fixed and there are only a few windows for random stuff, but despite this, he his happy with that he is doing.

     His road to success has never been easy. During his first year of playing for Ateneo he unfortunately got injured, which was a blow on the whole team. Cocoy felt devastatd when he fell on the ground. " It happened so fast that I wasn’t able to react anymore. It was the first perfect game of the team of that year, and I really felt that everything was smooth sailing until that happened. I really thought that it was going to be close to the end of my playing days. " said cocoy. When the diagnosis came out, he was speechless and he really lost hope. Despite this, his support group continued to be optomistic and adviced him to stay positive because they believed that everything will be just fine. During this awful time of his life, he had his support group and God to lean on, which surely helped him a lot. True enough, this was not the end of his journey as a soccer player. In fact, it was the beginning of a new start, a new start for him to strive to become even better than he already was.

     Cocoy's story is inspiring indeed, it serves as an example for those people who get injured and lose hope. Hope should never be lost, it's the most important factor in striving to be the best you can be.

Carissa Limcaoco

Carissa Angela Regala Limcaoco (Carissa)

FUTSAL

Have you ever heard of a Communications Technology Management Major who enjoys futsal, Claude Monet, arts and crafts, dancing, and traveling? Well I have! With months of futsal, hours spent on scrapbooking, relaxing day going through artwork, and tiresome hours learning dance steps, Carissa Limcaoco is definitely your all around girl!

All though she has only been playing futsal for a couple of months, Carissa used to play soccer from grade school until she was a high school senior. She’s very passionate about futsal, but this is just one of her many passions. She’s so into sports that she regrets not joining Ateneo’s soccer varsity team and the Blue Babble Battalion. This athletic lady delves shows her artistic side by scrapbooking, visiting museums, and looking at paintings. 

Carissa is especially passionate about traveling. Her most memorable experience was definitely her Junior Term Abroad. She enjoyed studying in France as well as traveling through the other parts of Europe. Her goal is to visit all 7 continents. After that, she wants to focus on visiting places like Egypt, Alaska, Morocco, Russia and many more!

Other than that, the top 3 things that she prioritises now are to graduate, to work in Nestle, and to travel. She wants to be able to enter the Management Trainee program of Nestle and eventually become a Marketing Manager there.

With all this work in her hands, she definitely needs some relaxation time. It’s shocking to think that she gets all the rest she needs at night when she doesn’t even sleep with a pillow!

Arielle Escalona

 Arielle Escalona

Ateneo Babble Battalion

Pages on the web?

 None; just the typical social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram)

Sport?

 Cheerleading (Ateneo Blue Babble Battalion)

How long? 

I took dancing in summer workshops back in grade school, but I officially joined the cheerleading varsity in my first year in high school (Poveda)

Competed internationally?

 I was part of Team Pilipinas all-girls squad back in 2010, but I didn't continue training with them (because the schedule was too hectic--I was already part of Babble then and the training was separate). I never competed internationally-- just in nationals (National Cheerleading Competition) in both high school and college divisions against schools from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

What are you passionate about (asides from the sport)?

 I am passionate about anything creative! I like creating things, designing, editing, and photography-- that's basically why I'm a comm-major.

Top three things you want to do now?

 Asides from nailing the routine for the upcoming UAAP Cheerdance Competition, I also want to head to the best restaurant in town and eat anything and everything I want without feeling guilty about breaking the diet for the competition. After a really good meal, I'd also love to head to the beach to relax and get a massage.

Where do you want to travel?

 Because cheerleaders in Ateneo have no off-season (we also train and perform during summer and breaks), I never really had the time to travel far. My family never gets to plan trips to Europe and America because I can't leave the Philippines for more than a week. A Euro-trip is definitely at the top of my list!

What makes an experience memorable? 

I think any experience is memorable if you make it memorable. People might think that what we do is very routine-based, but believe it or not, every performance is different from the other. What matters is how we try to improve and do better in the next performances.

Most memorable experience you had? 

The most memorable experience for me is my first UAAP Cheerdance Competition when I was in freshman year. It was my first time to be in a co-ed squad, my first competition in the college division, and my first time to perform in a stadium filled with almost 20,000 people. Five months into a 5-minute routine--it was definitely the best welcome to college!

What do you want to achieve?

Asides from bagging a trophy (or trophies), I'd also like to try to change the view of Ateneans to Blue Babble. Gone are the days when cheerleaders were only meant to lead the cheers in stadium aisles and perform for basketball halftimes. There is a whole different level of competition now, and sad to say, Ateneo has one of the least supporters for their squad.

Words you live by?

Fall seven times, stand up eight.

Secret talents?

 I do hair and make-up for my teammates for performances and competitions. Maybe I can put up my own salon one day!

Random facts?

 I can eat a 2-piece chicken joy with spaghetti, 2-piece burger steak, a jolly hotdog, fries and ice cream all in one sitting.  I also have a very loud and distinct laugh, that when I laugh, people know I'm just around the corner 

The Dynamic Dayrit Duo

Camille Dayrit & Cecille Dayrit

WOMEN'S FOOTBALL

Double the C, double the D, double the flavaaah! (If that sounded familiar, it was taken from Rock of Ages. Diego Boneta? No? Nevermind.) These two tiny 4'11" 1/2 (and they stressed on the 1/2 part) twins shared many hobbies growing up - gymnastics, piano lessons, ballet, swimming, basketball, and football. But it was football that captured their hearts. Now at their 4th year in college, these 2 girls are still playing the game they have a shared love for. Camille, the older twin by a minute, is a defender, while Cecille plays midfield. They may be twins (they both love bacon and hate mayonnaise! Such a twin thing, yeah?), but they are definitely their own person. Actually their personalities couldn't be more opposite. Here are a little fun facts about Camille and Cecille.

Camille is graduating this school year as an AB Psychology major and inherited her humor from her corny dad. She loves music - she always carries her iPod around with her in case she feels the need to listen to some tunes. Camille randomly bursts into song when she feels like it and laughs at herself when she remembers something funny (yes, she's a Psych major... and no, that apparently is not a sign of some disorder). She loves bacon, but doesn't eat lechon or sisig (I know, I know, BLASPHEMY!).

Cecille, an artist at heart, took the Art Management course. She has had the same teddy bear since she was born and it's been through a lot with her. It even had a rebel stage where it decided to super glue it's eyes and pop its nose off! She is so attached to it that Mommy Dayrit had to stitch its head back on (it fell off cause she brought it everywhere with her, not because of some unfortunate accident). Unlike Andy from Toy Story, Cecille had no doubt that she'd take it with her to college. Cecille loves cats. LOVES them. And it may sound weird but when she sneezes, she always, without fail, sneezes thrice.

Although these two girls argue with each other constantly, you can see the love they have for each other. We wish them and their team luck with their UAAP season this November!

Andre Banate, Finding Greatness

Andre Agassi?

  

No, it’s Andre Banate; One of Ateneo’s most skilled tennis players.

Named after an all-time great Andre Agassi, Andre Banate has had a good number of achievements himself.  When asked about what he has accomplished as a tennis player, he said. “Since grade schooL, I consistently represented Ateneo de Davao in inter-school competitions and won. Also, I consistently represented Region XI in the Palarong Pambansa (3^rd place). Highest PHILTA (Philippine Tennis Association) National Ranking was 3 in the 16-under category. Let me state that again, number 3 in the 16-under category in the whole Philippines. The only thing that can be better than that is ranking 1^st and 2^nd.

With his father as his mentor, he has always been pushed to the fullest of his capability when it comes to the sport tennis. He started playing tennis at the age of 7, and since then there was no looking back for Andre. He finds motivation in the joy he feels when playing the sport and at the same time, he is always inspired by his quest to be one of the best, not like he isn’t already one of them. Although just like any of the great tennis players, Andre still has room for improvement.

When watching him play, having the knowledge about the current tennis players and having the opportunity to watch them on TV would really allow you admire Andre even more that what a normal eye would see. This is because while watching him, it could not go unnoticed that he moves like the great Roger Federer. Federer is the current world number one and he is the greatest tennis player of all-time based on the number of grand slams he has won. 

When asked who his favourite tennis player is, I wasn’t surprised with what he said, “Roger Federer has really been my hero ever since I got hooked in this sport. My childhood hero has got unmatched skills, talent and makes tennis look so easy.” Roger Federer is his hero, and Roger Federer he is. Andre answered my question as if he were talking about himself because he too, has unmatched skills, talent and definitely makes tennis look so simple and easy.

First love last forever? I think not. Well, at least for Andre, this is not the case. His first love was the sport basketball, but his love slowly but surely shifted to the sport tennis, which has proved its love for him as well. Tennis definitely loves Andre back, which is why achieving greatness at such a young age was not that challenging to him.

“I love tennis now because it really became part of my identity as a person. It taught me significant virtues like patience and hardwork .” says Andre. This shows how his life and the sport tennis has made a connection, a connection that allows him not only to be a prodigious tennis player, but a great man as well.

Rocco Sumabat

Rocco Sumabat

Captain

Golf

Though he's known to be a serious person, Rocco has a zany sense of humor and will definitely have your sides in stitches. Deep down, he’s a great big goof. With 10 years of playing experience, there is no doubt Rocco will help his with the gold in the 75^th season of the UAAP. Rocco is a very determined man. Taking up one of the hardest courses in the Ateneo, he knows how to set his priority straight

LETS GET TO KNOW HIM MORE!

Even though he knows that BS/M Applied Mathematics Major in Mathematical Finance (AMF) is a hard course, he still pursues it because he knows that it will lead him to the future that he wants. Though his course is hard enough as it is, he manages to balance it with international golf competitions in San Diego, tournaments in Jakarta and Indonesia, and his other passions such as reading.

Verbs are very powerful, and Rocco finds strength and perseverance in one specific verb: win. Whatever he sets his mind to, he does his best to achieve it. Some instances of these were during the Samsung Interscholastic Golf Championships and National Intercollegiate Golf competitions. He strived his hardest and won the gold. With his determination, he's well on his way of achieving his goal, which is to be the best college golfer in the country. While doing this, he is also intent on finishing his 5 year course. This seemingly busy schedule leaves a lot of stones unturned, but he's resolved on making up for everything he's missed out on, perhaps in Dubai or South America or Africa, which are places he would very much love to visit.

Mikko Mabanag

Small, but undoubtedly incredible.

Mikko Mabanag is known for his flashy moves, his play making, and above all, his leadership. Despite playing soccer for almost his entire life, it cannot be denied that he has achieved so much as an athlete. The sport has had so much impact on him that it actually gives meaning to his life. “Soccer is my source of positivity. It also taught me values such as leadership, discipline, faith, family and integrity. Best thing about soccer is that, whatever I learn from the sport is applied to my everyday life. These are priceless compared to books and classroom work/duties.” Clearly, soccer has allowed Mikko to grow and mature as a young man. It has taught him good qualities that can be applied in his life as he grows older.

Given the fact that we are faced with many temptations in today’s time, it may be difficult for athletes to control what they do, what they drink, and even what they eat. However, the importance of staying fit must always be kept lingering on the minds of athletes. For this reason, Mikko lures himself away from vices and does not prioritize going out too much. During his free time, he goes to the gym to lift weights (not to make him buff or heavy, but to strengthen his core), and does road works for about thirty minutes. There’s always nothing better than leading by example. Mikko is the perfect example of someone who loves what he does and someone who does what he loves with passion.

When asked how he has made it possible for himself to achieve greatness, he gave out a few of his pre-game routines. He said that he makes sure to have eight hours of sleep. Enough sleep is always vital for an athlete’s performance since having adequate rest before the game would affect your stamina greatly. Mikko also watches inspirational videos about soccer and studies his position by watching videos of team play tactics. Barcelona will always be a good team to idolize when it comes to team play. According to him, a lot of water is needed and not Gatorade because it will make you feel heavy. Lastly, “The most important of all is eating right (carbo load, just the right amount of rice, no soft drinks, less oily food and more on protein based food and for dessert I eat fruits).” These are a few tips from the great Mikko Mabanag. Although, I’m pretty confident that he is hiding the real secret to his success. I don’t blame him though, for keeping it from me or anyone for that matter. I believe he has his personal reasons for keeping this secret just as any chef would keep his secret recipe. After all, it is a secret.

Mabanag has received so many awards at a very young age. He was won the most valuable player more than once, he has also garnered best midfielder award along with a good number of championships. Straight from Mabanag himself, “Ateneo taught me something that I will never forget. ‘You can't just study, you should have your passion beside you’ Soccer is my passion and it made my life wonderful. My advice for the kids out there, whatever that passion may be, hold on to it and love it and I guarantee you that your life will be more meaningful.” Passion it is. Something one must keep at heart in pursuing a goal. Your passion for something will drive you to achieve greatness; your passion serves as an invisible hand that will push you to your limit. With this any goal will be made possible, and impossible will be nothing.