THE ATENEO Blue Shuttlers sustained their phenomenal start, trouncing the UP Maroons, 4-1, to prevail in the battle of the Asuncion-coached squads, at the Rizal Sports Complex, on August 22.
Coached by Kennie Asuncion, the men in Blue, came close to duplicating their impeccable performance against FEU, winning their first four matches against the Kennyvic Asuncion-mentored UP Maroons before Ap Sanchez struggled to keep his shots inside and succumbed to Charlo Tengco.
Reigning Rookie of the Year Tobi Gadi kicked things off for the Eagles by steamrolling over Kelvin Panganiban, 2-0, displaying his brilliance to trigger what would be an almost-perfect day for the Blue Shuttlers.
A fired up Pawee Natividad went into rampage early in the second match to take the opening set against Christian Crisostomo, 21-10. Struggling with his net play and backhand flicks, Trinidad dropped the second set, 17-21, before storming out reinvigorated in the third set, entertaining the crowd with his electrifying plays to snatch the victory, 21-5.
The third match showcased the debut of the brother of Pawee Natividad—Justin—who joined forces with Gadi to battle it out against the Maroons’ duo of Gian Manuel and Mervin Santiago. Justin Natividad debuted in similar fashion to his brother, as he and Gadi annihilated the Fighting Maroons 21-4, 21-14.
A Paolo Sunga and Pawee Natividad team-up was featured in the fourth match of the day, slugging it out with Roden Rivera and Panganiban. Sunga and Natividad’s steady play and effective rotation helped them cruise to an easy 21-11 first set triumph before being upended by the Maroon’s in a 26-28, nerve-frazzling second set loss. A hotly-contested third set saw an exchange of rally expedites featuring high-flying smashes before late-game composure propelled Sunga and Natividad, who drilled the winning kill, to victory, 21-19.
4-0 and aiming for their second sweep in as many days, fate suddenly turned its back against the Blue Shuttlers as Ap Sanchez, who nailed the final victory to complete the sweep yesterday, failed to deliver. The line was just not on Sanchez’s side today as most of his shots went out of bounds. With frustration creeping in, Sanchez’ performance collapsed while the Ateneo crowd was stunned by his, 11-21 and 16-21, loss.
Nevertheless, it was still a superb opening weekend—no fluke. The Blue Shuttlers next play La Salle on August 28 (Sunday), 9am at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall.
