WHEN TOBI Gadi smashed the winning point everyone thought it would be an easy ride to clinch the final game for the second seed in the Final Four. But the Admason Falcons made sure the Blue Shuttlers earned it in their last game of the round robin stages on September 11 at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall.

In an unexpectedly close affair, doubles pair Ap Sanchez and Rainier Tiam-Lee won their matchup against the Adamson duo of Jerome Pacheco and Mark Olemia, 11-21,21-15 21-16. This secured the Blue Shuttlers the twice-to-beat advantage going into the Final Four on September 12.

Sanchez and Tiam-Lee were frustrated early as they made several unforced errors, including at least four service errors in the first set which gave the one-sided victory to the underdog Falcons.

“The umpire was very strict with service…he really wanted the racket pointed down,” said Sanchez.

But knowing the importance of not giving momentum, the pair from Loyola Heights seized an early 11-5 lead, and went on to take the set. Sanchez and Tiam-Lee adjusted their serve and went on to dominate the rattled Falcons.

In the third and deciding set, however, the Blue Shuttlers fell behind early, 3-0, but rallied to tie the score at 9-9. With momentum on their side, the Ateneo duo finally closed out the set 21-16.

After a tough, well fought match, Sanchez lauded his opponents. The Adamson duo was the only winless doubles tandem in the tournament, “Their returns were really good and they played really well,” said Sanchez.

Following the third match of the day, the Blue Shuttlers went on to sweep the final two non-bearing games for a 5-0 win.

The win gave the Blue Shuttlers the twice-to-beat advantage going into the semifinals against third seed De La Salle University.

The boys in Blue will be looking to avenge last year’s memory, as they bounced out of the Final Four stages despite being the top seed.