Dither Tablan, a former UAAP judo champion and national kurash team member, passed away on Friday, Oct. 29.
He was 23.
Tablan was a core member of University of Santo Tomas judo men's team, who helped the squad become a four-peat champion.
He also became a two-time UAAP Most Valuable Player in the process.
Tablan, one of the best athletes UST has produced, graduated with a degree in Sports and Wellness Management in 2020.
As part of the national team, he competed in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games and the 2017 Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games.
Friends, family, UST athletes and coaches, and the university's Institute of Physical Education and Athletics mourned Tablan's death, who succumbed to a heart attack per reports.
"The UST-IPEA Family extends its sincerest condolences to the family of Mr. Dither Joshua Peco Tablan," wrote UST-IPEA on its Facebook post.