Roaring from the bleachers to the courtside
(From being one of the Thomasian crowd proudly roaring “Go USTe!” whenever the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) season comes, Tonie Moreno is now fulfilling her dream of leading the crowd as the new courtside reporter of the University of Santo Tomas (UST))
FROM being one of the Thomasian crowd proudly roaring “Go USTe!” whenever the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) season comes, Tonie Moreno is now fulfilling her dream of leading the crowd as the new courtside reporter of the University of Santo Tomas (UST).
Even before entering the Arch of the Centuries to officially begin her college life in UST, Tonie Marie Moreno was already hyped to growl with the Tigers since she was inspired by the performance of the athletes representing the university back then.
“I always see them sa UAAP, 'tas ayun ‘yung time kasi na parang laging nasa final four, laging muntik na mag-championship, laging may bridesmaid finish,” she recounted why UST became her dream school.
Fate seemed to have really led Tonie to the road of becoming a courtside reporter. At a young age, she was already inclined with sports updates since she served as a sports writer in her previous school’s publication with Kristelle Batchelor, UST courtside reporter from 2013 to 2015, as the editor-in-chief (EIC).
Tonie already felt the the connection between her and UST by just watching UAAP games, while her passion of speaking in front of people is Tonie’s reason for taking up Communication Arts. With her inclination to sports and public speaking, Tonie dreamt of being UST’s courtside reporter. The dream went stronger when Batchelor, her former EIC, became the courtside reporter.
“Thomasian din siya tapos ni-represent niya [ang UST], tapos she's doing what I want to do which is to speak to a lot of people...'okay that is something I could do,'” she said.
Being one of her seniors in St. James Academy, she went to Batchelor to ask for tips during her audition.
“‘Uy Ate Kristel, kaya ko ba ‘to? Ate Kristel ano bang dapat kong i-focus’ ganoon, she was the one that helped me, so parang sa kanya talaga ako na-inspire,” exclaimed Tonie.
Now in her graduating year in UST, Tonie worked hard to grab the chance and fulfill her dream of representing her university as a courtside reporter.
“Noong first year, time ni Ate Kristel ‘yun. Noong second year, third year ako, time ni Ate Angelique ‘yun [as courtside reporter]. So i feel like noong fourth year ako ay time ko na 'to,” she recalled.
After being introduced to the public as the new courtside reporter of UST, there have been different opinions about her even before the season started. But just like how a strong lady handles a situation like this, she listened to what Batchelor, her mentor, said on how to deal with them.
“They can’t rob you of the opportunity of being the courtside reporter, ikaw na ‘yung inassign diyan, ikaw na yung nandiyan. The most you can do is do your best kasi they can’t take you out of their frame if they don’t want to see you ‘di ba? Just prove yourself na lang,” Tonie reminisced what her Ate Kristelle told her.
Angelique Manto, Season 78 and 79 UST courtside reporter, left a mark as one of the best courtside reporters of recent memory with "#WalangIwananUST," which became a part of her legacy.
Tonie said that comparisons among past courtside reporters will always be there so she will just “try to be as good of a symbol” to the Thomasian community.
“All in tayo for UST,” she said.
