Grit and sweat: Science community takes on Palarong Agham 2024
By: Jasmine Claire Abarca and Agatha Rei Gomez
The UST Science Community once again proved “Galing Science, Galing Science” in CoSplay: Palarong Agham 2024 last March 21 at the Quadricentennial (QPav) Practice Courts.
The day started with an enthusiastic speech led by Dean Rey Donne S. Papa, Ph.D, who ignited everyone's fire with the simple phrase of, "May the best team win." He also encouraged the players to make the most of the full day of games, as they were only given such a limited time last year. The players took an oath, which further stroked their competitive flame.
This year’s Palarong Agham included basketball, volleyball, and parlor games for the administration, faculty, staff, alumni, and students of the college.
The first basketball match was won by Dean Papa's team, followed by a mixed volleyball match of the UST College of Science’s faculty.
The following four volleyball matches were won consecutively, where teams from the Math and Physics (Math-Phy), Biology (Bio), and Psychology and Chemistry (Psych-Chem) Departments participated. The Thomasian Goodwill Games, TGG, men's team won against the Psych-Chem men's team with a 15–4 win. However, this was quickly regained in the second match for the Psych-Chem women's team against Bio-B's women's team, with a close game of 17–19 in the third set. The TGG men's team also won the following match against our alumni with 17–15, which was quickly regained by the latter against the TGG women's team with a 15–12 lead.
The final game of the day was a basketball match between Math-Phy and Bio-A. The latter never let go of their lead, eventually winning with a 50–36 point lead and 3 seconds more on the clock.
The College of Science Drumline also certainly added on to the intense atmosphere that the players gave.
The parlor games were simultaneously held with the basketball and volleyball exhibition games. Dodgeball, agawan base, and patintero were the games joined by faculty, staff, and students. Teams consisting of the faculty, staff, and students from various academic departments participated in the morning batch, while student teams played in the afternoon batch.
Teams from the Math-Phy, Bio, and Psych-Chem Departments participated in the morning batch of patintero wherein two sets were simultaneously played — Bio-A vs Math-Phy, and Bio-B vs Psych-Chem. Bio-A won the first set, while Psych-Chem won the second.
Bio-A, Bio-B, Math-Phy, and Psych-Chem teams joined the dodgeball game afterwards. The Psych-Chem and Math-Phy teams played for the championship which Psych-Chem won.
Psychology (Psych), Chemistry (Chem), and Biology (Bio) student teams participated in the afternoon batch of the games.
Psych-A, Psych-B, Chem, and Bio teams joined the dodgeball games, wherein Chem won the game versus Psych-B, while Psych-A won against Bio. The Psych-A and Chem teams played for the championship which Chem won, putting Psych-A in second place. Psych-B placed third after winning the game against Bio.
Psych, Chem, and Bio teams also played in the game of agawan base. Psych, the winning team against Chem, competed against Bio. Overall, Bio won the game.
The day was filled with screams equivalent to the roar of tigers, thudding hearts, sweating palms, and an air of adrenaline. The players have fought to prove who the best team was, and, in the end, showcased their skills that left the audience in awe. Overall, it was an unforgettable and fun experience for everyone involved, which can surely be looked back upon with a smile. To quote an alumnus, “the College of Science will always be our home, and with it, we will forever have a home.”
