Last January 18, 2014, De La Salle Santiago Zobel’s (DLSZ) Brother and Sister Duo brought home 4 gold medals in the 2ndAdidas Karatedo International Championships at the Makati Coliseum. This year’s competition brought in athletes from the Metro Manila, Batangas, Cavite, Laguna and Davao. Foreign athletes from Indonesia and Singapore flew in as well to compete in this year’s event.
Naoki Alforte (DLSZ 2022) started the medal haul for DLSZ early in the day with a Gold medal win in the 8-9 Years Old Boys Individual Kata (Forms) Category. Â Naoki bested players from Ateneo, La Salle Green Hills, Jose Rizal University as well as competitors from Batangas, Cavite and Davao. All of Naoki’s Kata bouts were judged 5-0 in favor of Naoki.
Big sister Sakura Alforte (DLSZ 2020) wasn’t far behind as she overwhelmed her opponents in the 10-11 Years Old Girls Individual Kata Category. Sakura successfully defeated players from Cavite, Batangas, Davao, Taguig and Metro Manila with impressive scores. Sakura score impressive 5-0 score in Kata impressing all of her judges.
Later in the afternoon, the Alforte’s would again dominate their respective kumite (sparring) events dispatching all of their opponents easily. Naoki would win Gold in the 8-9 Years Old Boys Kumite Category by blanking all of his opponents not allowing any of them a single point. Sakura on the other hand also proved her mettle by dominating all her bouts against Filipino and Indonesian opponents and grabbing the Gold in the 10-11 Years Old Girls Individual Kumite Category.
Naoki and Sakura Alforte are varsity members of the DLSZ Karatedo Team and have been training under the tutelage of DLSZ Karatedo Head Coach Juan Carlos Veguillas and Assistant Coach Paolo Nicholas Veguillas.
Written By Mr. Juan Carlos Veguillas, Head Coach of DLSZ Karatedo Team
