When you look at the bleachers, you can see players waiting for their games - wearing their shoes, warming up, eating, listening to music, or talking to their teammates. But when you look at the bleachers of UPLB, you will be surprised. They were holding hand-outs or notebooks. As usual, acads before anything else. In that exact moment, I realized that we are Iskolar ng Bayan - we persevere to excel not just in academics but also in sports.

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This reminds me of a Facebook post right after the UP MBT lost against Ateneo. The Facebook post says: "Ganyan talaga kapag matalino, exempted sa finals." It is obvious that we are trying to cheer ourselves up after losing the chance to win this season. It is given that UP excels when it comes to academics and we are proud of it. But we can't deny that we also have the urgency to prove that we can be good at different sports too. Being an Isko/Iska means holistic development to be globally competitive.

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Unfortunately for me, I had the same fate as UP MBT. In short, I lost against other (extra emphasis on "other") colleges and universities. I really felt sad that day but my teammates told me that I can train harder to be better because I still have a lot of years (hopefully only 3 more) in UP. It has always been my dream to be part of the badminton varsity team of UP, I was disappointed because I didn't win a medal for UP. I actually wouldn't mind losing but UP has been my long time dream and there's nothing more fulfilling than tome make my university proud. 

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While I was in the ferry all by myself, I think about all the encouragement that my teammates and coach have given me. I am thankful because even though I am new to the team, they accepted me and believed in me. When I got in the varsity team, I never thought I would be chosen as one of the university's delegates for STRASUC. I will forever be thankful that they spent late nights just to help me improve. When I lost, they told me that I can train harder so that I can have my revenge (mwahahaha) next year. Whenever I fail, I always tell myself that failures are meant to happen to make you stronger as you reach for success. Always look on the bright side. 

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As I look on the bright side, I realized that I should still be happy for some of my teammates because they won medals for UPLB. I am proud of all the UPLB athletes because we went to Romblon to represent UPLB even though we are currently fighting through hell weeks. I am proud because we supported each other during games. I am proud because we are one for UPLB. 

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We are matapang because we were able to cram all the school works that we missed when we were in Romblon. We are matalino because we took our exam right after we went back from Romblon. The guts do do all these makes us a true Iskolar ng Bayan.

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Kidding aside, I went back to LB empty handed. But this is not the end. You can always get back up when you fall. Next year, if I would still be given a chance to play in STRASUC, I will do my best to win that gold for my Pamantasang Hirang.

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