Sacrifices pay off for Jose

Noelito Jose credited his double training during his time at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) for his development as a national team fencer.

Jose recalled that he would train at UST in the afternoon and would commute to the Philsports Complex in Pasig City so that he could spar with members of the national team.

Fast forward to today, Jose is now one of the Filipino veteran fencers along with Paris Olympian Samantha Catantan.

“I would go to class from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. and train in school in the afternoon. Then in the evening, I trained with the national team because fencers from other universities are allowed to join since they needed more sparring partners,” Jose told DAILY TRIBUNE.

Jose’s efforts did not go to waste as he became a four-time men’s epee gold medalist in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines from 2014 to 2017.

He then became a two-time Southeast Asian Games silver medalist in 2021 in Hanoi and 2023 in Phnom Penh.