THEY WERE the favorites to win it all—with a nearly flawless 6-1 record, and having brushed aside arch rivals La Salle 3-1 in the Final Four with a twice to beat advantage, heading into the UAAP championship on September 26 at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall, many thought was just a formality.
But in their way was a dominating UST squad that had haunted them so many times. Since last year’s disappointing third place finish, redemption was what the Blue Shuttlers have been gunning for.
Fielding Toby Gadi and Patrick Natividad in the first pair of singles action, the Ateneo Blue Shuttlers were well on their way to the coronation that seemed to have belonged to them since the start of the season.
There were two possible scenarios. The first was if Gadi and P. Natividad’s won their singles matches, the duo of Paolo Sunga and Justin Natividad would seal the championship off in the third match. The second scenario was if ever Sunga and J. Natividad failed to cap off the victory, the tandem of Gadi and P. Natividad would do the demolition job, and the crown was theirs.
But no one ever thought that P. Natividad, who had been so dominant in throughout the season, would lose. And no one thought this Finals match would extend to a fifth match.
In the first game, national team-stalwart Gadi came out ablaze against UST’s Tan-tan Kapunan, unleashing a 12-0 run after a nine-all deadlock to grab the first set, 21-9. In the second set, the fired up Gadi showcased his athletic prowess, which gave him a 21-14 win to put the Blue Shuttlers ahead, 1-0.
From the start, when P. Natividad headed to court, something already seemed off. His demeanor continued as he failed to run and save points he usually saved with ease. UST’s RJ Ornila exploited on P. Natividad’s weak play snatching a 21-18, 21-15 victory to tie the score at 1-1.
This was the turning point. When P. Natividad faltered in his singles match, a glimmer of hope eluded brightly for the Growling Tigers.
With the surprise loss, Sunga and J. Natividad were needed to step up and win in the first doubles match of the day. Going against UST star player Ariel Magnaye and Benjude Cafeje, the Blue Shuttlers duo gave it their all, before falling short, 18-21, 16-21. At this point, UST was ahead, 2-1.
With the dominating duo of Gadi and P. Natividad coming on to the plate, everyone knew this was going to a deciding fifth match. The Ateneo duo steamrolled the tandem of Kapunan and Cafeje, 21-10, 22-20, to knot the score at 2-2.
The fate of the Blue Shuttlers now depended on team captain Sunga who would be playing the deciding fifth match. Going against a UST squad who had season MVP Magnaye playing the last match, this proved to be a mismatch.
Sunga proved his doubters wrong as his persistence helped him salvage the first set, 21-17.
Magnaye regained focus in the ensuing set to force a nerve-frazzling third set, 21-16. Sunga stayed close until the very end before Magnaye sealed his team’s second consecutive championship with a 21-17 win.
And that was the end of the Blue Shuttler’s superb run. They were only four points away.
The UST squad was relentless, seizing every opportunity to successfully defend their crown. They vanquished the Blue Shuttlers, 3-2, which meant that Ateneo would have to wait another year to end their six year UAAP badminton championship drought.
*With reports from Rey D. Laxa
