WITH SEASON 81 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) drawing closer, select members of the Ateneo Men’s and Women’s Badminton teams took to the courts to participate in the 2018 Frederick D. Go (FDG) Cup Badminton Tournament from June 7 to 10 at the Upper Deck Sports Center in Pasig City.

The latest edition of the tournament pit several current and former Blue and Lady Eagles against one another in five separate categories of the tournament, namely the men’s singles and doubles, women’s singles and doubles, and mixed doubles categories.

Men’s Singles

Fides Bagasbas and Sito Fernandez were two of the Blue Eagles who competed in the men’s singles division of the FDG Cup, joining 62 nationally and internationally-ranked players from around the country.

Bagasbas faced Benny Carlos Divinigracia in the first round, managing to outwit his opponent in just over 20 minutes to advance to the next round, 21-6, 21-15. The following day, Bagasbas then trumped Cedric Oruga in the next round in two sets, 21-12, 21-7, before falling to Lyrden Laborte in the Round of 16 (17-21, 14-21).

Fernandez, meanwhile, had a much tougher run, failing to beat Mike Minuluan in the Round of 64. The Season 80 rookie fought hard to keep the scores tight but could not force a third set, eventually exiting the tournament with set-scores of 17-21, and 12-21.

Men’s Doubles

Patrick Gecosala, Bagasbas, and Fernandez then suited up to compete in the men’s doubles division. Gecosala and Fernandez teamed up to take on Paul Pantig and former Blue Eagle Hanz Bernardo in the first round. However, the pair’s appearance in this category came to an abrupt end after exiting with set-scores of 21-9 and 21-12.

Fernandez, meanwhile, teamed up with RJ Onguangco to go head-to-head with Airom Punongbayan and Adrian Ramos. In a similar turn of events, Fernandez’s appearance was brief as he exited the tournament after losing 21-23, and 15-21.

Women’s Singles

Beatrice Felizardo, Alyssa Roxas, Samantha Ramos, and Chanelle Lunod also donned the school’s colors in the women’s singles category as four of the category’s 32 competitors.

While Felizardo and Roxas made their exits in the first round, Ramos found herself breezing through to the Round of 16, where she eventually fell to Mariya Sevilla, to a score of 15-21 in both sets.

Lunod, on the other hand, put up a string of good performances in the early rounds as she cruised her way to the quarterfinals. There, the Season 79 Rookie of the Year engaged in a thrilling three-set match with Mikaella De Guzman, with the former eventually advancing to the semifinals courtesy of a 13-21, 22-20, 22-20 win. Lunod’s stellar run would eventually come to an end at the hands of Gelita Castro, as the Lady Eagle came up short, 16-21, 14-21.

Women’s Doubles

Roxas, Felizardo, Ramos, and Lunod also competed in the Women’s Doubles division of the tournament. Roxas teamed up with Nattcha Chattputtarin from Thailand to take on the duo of Jiselle Capillo and Jeya Pinlac. Although the Roxas-Chattputtarin tandem did well to take the first set, 21-16, the pairing lost the following sets, 18-21, 15-21, as they made an early exit out of the tournament.

Felizardo meanwhile, was unable to see action as she and her partner, Apisara Lertwissetheerakul, were eliminated by way of walkover. Ramos joined up with Slovenian Kaja Stankovic for the tournament, managing to make it past the Round of 32 by way of walkover before falling in the Round of 16, 23-21, 21-14.

Lunod, meanwhile, teamed up with Devi Tika Permatasari of Indonesia as they surpassed each opponent to eventually be crowned the champions. In the finals round, Lunod and Permatasari defeated Airah Albo and Sarah Barredo, 21-18 and 21-15, to become the Women’s Doubles Champions of the 2018 FDG Cup.

Mixed Doubles

Patrick Gecosala was the only current Blue and White who competed in the Mixed Doubles category, pairing up with Permatasari. The tandem performed well early on–reaching the quarter-finals without a single set dropped. However, the duo’s journey would soon come to an end after defeat at the hands of Hanz Bernardo and Keshya Hanadia, 21-11, and 21-15.

Photo credit: Glen Lopez, Fabilioh