PLAYING IN their first competition of the preseason, several members of the Ateneo Men’s and Women’s Badminton teams participated in the 2017 Frederick D. Go (FDG) Cup Badminton Tournament, testing their mettle on the court against talents from local and international schools and clubs from June 8 to 11 at the Upper Deck Sports Center.

Following a knockout format, the open tournament saw the Blue and Lady Eagles competing in four categories, where they played against and alongside fellow shuttlers from outside the school.

Men’s Singles

Blue Eagles Carlo Remo, Keoni Asuncion, Clarence Filart, Sean Chan, Emilio Mangubat, and Fides Bagasbas represented the Blue and White in the men’s singles division as six of the 64 competitors in the event. Three qualifying rounds narrowed the competition from the initial 64 to the top eight who were assured of a quarterfinals slot in the division.

While Mangubat and Chan exited the men’s singles in the first two rounds of the competition, their teammates fared better, managing to reach the top 16 to fight for a spot in the quarterfinals. Filart, however, was the only Blue Eagle to eventually make it past the third round, knocking out teammate Asuncion en route to the quarters, where he was eliminated by Solomon Padiz, Jr. of Philippine Badminton Association (PBA) Smash Pilipinas in a three-set match at 21-14, 21-23, 21-16.

Men’s Doubles

Patrick Gecosala, Anton Vargas, Christian Bernardo, Asuncion, Remo, and Mangubat competed in the men’s doubles division, where the Blue Eagles were partnered with players from outside their own team. Similarly, the men’s doubles featured 64 pairs in a three-round knockout preceding the quarterfinals, with all Blue Eagles managing to secure a spot among the top eight tandems. However, only Bernardo managed to bag a berth in the semifinals alongside Paul John Pantig of the University of Sto. Tomas. The duo was ultimately knocked out by Peter Gabriel Magnaye and Alvin Morada of PBA Smash Pilipinas in two sets at 21-15, 21-15.

Women’s Singles

Meanwhile, the women led a more successful campaign on the other side of the tournament, topping the podium in both the singles and doubles divisions as Bea Felizardo, Alyssa Roxas, Bianca Carlos, Cassie Lim, Trixie Malibiran, Samantha Ramos, and Chanelle Lunod donned the school’s colors in the women’s singles category as seven out of 32 competitors.

Two rounds of action cut down the 32 to the remaining undefeated eight, with only Roxas, Carlos, and Lim snagging a spot in the quarterfinals. While Roxas went down fighting in two sets against Sarah Joy Barredo of PBA Smash Pilipinas, another quarterfinal setup pitted Carlos against teammate Lim for a spot in the next round. A hard-fought two-set match saw Carlos prevail against her fellow Lady Eagle at 21-14, 21-14, sending Carlos to the semis, where she defeated Barredo in two sets to win a ticket to the finals. The Lady Eagle then bagged the gold in the battle for the crown, retiring opponent Aira Albo of PBA Smash Pilipinas at 21-16, 11-2.

Women’s Doubles

The Lady Eagles also made a statement in the women’s doubles event, grabbing the gold, silver, and bronze as Carlos tallied her second golden finish in the tournament.

Geva de Vera, Jana de Vera, Lunod, Lim, Carlos, and Ramos competed in the women’s doubles category, teaming up with non-Atenean shuttlers to form six of 32 pairs. Only Carlos, Lunod, and Geva de Vera’s pairs made it past the first three rounds of play and into the semifinals, setting de Vera against teammate Lunod in a battle for a finals berth.

Partnered with Robinsons Land’s Devi Tika Permatasari, Lunod defeated the tandem of de Vera and Natcha Saengchote from Thailand in a three-set thriller at 13-21, 21-16, 21-18, forcing a match against Carlos and Olga Morozova from Russia and leaving de Vera to settle for the bronze medal. With Lady Eagle against Lady Eagle on the doubles court, Carlos and partner Morozova then stole the show, grabbing the gold in three sets at 21-17, 14-21, 21-15, as Lunod completed the podium with silver at second place.

Mixed Doubles

The mixed doubles event featured both the Blue and Lady Eagles in the knockout, as Mangubat, Gecosala, Lunod, Roxas, Felizardo, Malibiran, Bagasbas, Chan, Carlos, Geva de Vera, Vargas, Filart, and Bernardo branched out to form 13 of the 32 pairs in the division.

However, only Lady Eagle Carlos and Blue Eagle Bernardo made it past the first two rounds, meeting each other’s pairs in the semifinals. Partnered with Carlos’ teammate in the women’s doubles event, Bernardo and Morozova scored an upset in the semis, defeating Carlos and Arif Latif from Malaysia in a tight three-set match at 23-21, 18-21, 21-17, to earn a place in the finals. Bernardo and Morozova, however, fell short in three sets to PBA Smash Pilipinas tandem Alvin Morada and Alyssa Leonardo in the final, giving Bernardo the silver while Carlos took the bronze for a third medal.

Scoring three of Ateneo’s six medals in the tournament, Lady Eagle Bianca Carlos is pleased with the team’s performance, highlighting a promising stage of rebuilding as the team heads into a new season in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).

“The cup was a good way to gauge where we are, our level, and our game play,” she said. “[It is] a good start for the team’s preparation for the next UAAP season.”