Ultimate players ditched cleats for rubber shoes in the 1st Indoor Ultimate Development League on Saturday, with UP Diliman, Philippine Science High School, and Miriam College topping their respective categories at the tournament’s second day at the UP College of Human Kinetics.

UP Diliman A beat its finals rival UST 14-9, leading most of the time in regulation reign the mixed category for college players.

Philippine Science High School B took advantage of Claret School of Quezon City’s meltdown 5 minutes before time 11-9, breaking the tight scoring seesaw to end the HS men’s finals 15-10 and avenging its Team A’s defeat to Claret in the semifinals.

Miriam College A ruled the 3-team HS women’s division after defeating Assumption Antipolo 18-15.

Field to court transition

The grass-to-floor shift of indoor ultimate meant a lot of adjustments for players who were used to a wider field and having more teammates in play.

“It’s a lot smaller than the open fields we usually play on. A smaller playing field meant faster movements, quicker plays and decision making on the field had to be twice as fast,” Jess de Leon of UP Diliman Team B told fullcourtfresh.com. “Personally, I enjoy laying out/diving and that was a little hard to change. But with proper training, I think we (UP Kids) did exceptionally well for a team composed of mostly beginners”

Claret’s Gab Pagdanganan also noted that playing ultimate’s indoor version was harder, with the need to “minimize our throws and actions” with a faster game play in place.

“Papag-aralan pa namin yung indoor (ultimate) pero nagustuhan talaga namin,” he added.

Pushed by teacher’s Paul Libo-on and Jamel Pangandaman, indoor ultimate is seen as a way to promote the sport in schools where courts are more visible than fields.

Indoor ultimate “(may) pave the way for its inclusion in the PE programs of various schools leading to a grass roots program that will be able to produce future ultimate athletes,” Libo-on earlier told fullcourtfresh.com

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Indoor Ultimate Development League results:

Mixed Category

1st: UP Diliman (A)
2nd: University of Santo Tomas
3rd: UP Diliman (B)

Men’s Category (HS)

1st: Philippine Science High School (B)
2nd: Claret School of Quezon City
3rd: Ateneo De Manila High School

Women’s Category (HS)

1st: Miriam College (A)
2nd: Assumption Antipolo
3rd: Miriam College (B)

With reports from Roehl Niño Bautista. Check out more IUDL photos on our Facebook page!

Disclaimer: FCF is an official media partner for IUDL