SHOWCASING THEIR dominance, the Ateneo Blue Shuttlers cudgeled the UE Red Warriors, 5-0, to remain undefeated after five outings on September 4, at Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall.
Toby Gadi initiated the Blue Shuttlers’ fourth sweep of the season by steamrolling UE’s Lorenzo Guerrero, 21-8, 21-12.
In what seemed like a monotonous Saturday morning, Ap Sanchez provided the crowd with a dose of theatrics when he faced Red Warrior Luis Gomez. Sanchez’s penchant for stagecraft surfaced as he orchestrated a thrilling comeback that saw him falter, 22-20, in the opening set before raking up the second set with an emphatic, 21-8, win to force a sudden-death third set. With a pulsating, 21-17 triumph, Sanchez embraced the limelight and redeemed himself by making it a 2-0 Ateneo lead over UE.
In the first doubles match of the day, Ateneo duo, Pawee Natividad and Paolo Sunga were in for a tough battle against UE’s tandem of Johnson Agustin and Daryl Soledad, as both teams relentlessly exchanged rally expedites, before Sunga and Natividad narrowly escaped, 21-19 in the first set. The second set, however, was a stroll in the park, the Blue Shuttlers icing the victory, 21-12, and more importantly tallying another win for team Ateneo.
Before the start of the fourth match, the UE coaches had a swift conversation with a game official who said, “Ang lakas ng Ateneo ngayon (Ateneo is so strong this year).” The coaches only offered smiles for their reply.
To wrap things up for the Blue Shuttlers, Gadi and the left-handed Natividad unleashed a, 21-9, 21-10, demolition job of Red Warrior’s duo of Guerrero and Gomez. Natividad’s dazzling display completed Ateneo’s third game-sweep of the season, trouncing Agustin, 21-10 and 21-16.
On September 5, the Blue Shuttlers next face UST—the only other undefeated team, and also the team they lost to in last year’s semifinals—at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall.
Box Score:
Toby Gadi (Ateneo) def. Ramon Lorenzo Guerrero (UE)
21-8, 21-12
Raphael Sanchez (Ateneo) def. Jose Luis Gomez (UE)
20-22, 21-8, 21-17
Patrick Natividad & Paolo Sunga (Ateneo) def. Don Johnson Agustin & Daryl Jay Soledad (UE)
21-19, 21-12
Toby Gadi & Justin Natividad (Ateneo) def. Ramon Lorenzo Guerrero & Jose Luis Gomez (UE)
21-9, 21-10
Patrick Natividad (Ateneo) def. Don Johnson Agustin (UE)
21-10, 21-16
UAAP Standings:
- Ateneo (5-0)
- UST (5-0)
- DLSU (4-1)
- UP (3-2)
- NU (2-3)
- FEU (1-4)
- UE (0-5)
- AdU (0-5)
