THERE IS no stopping the Ateneo Blue Shuttlers from claiming a second straight tourney title—not even a squad mentored by Coach Kennie Asuncion’s brother, Kennevic Asuncion.
Fresh off a win against Far Eastern University, the Blue Shuttlers have continued their championship conquest as they suppressed the University of the Philippines (UP) with a 4-1 assault for a spotless 4-0 slate at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex (RMSC) Badminton Hall yesterday, August 18.
Team Captain Toby Gadi drew first blood against the Fighting Maroons in a decisive sweep of Gio Fajardo, who triumphed in extended games against Adamson on opening day. Gadi was quick to capitalize on Fajardo’s unforced errors on the first game to take an early 11-5 lead. He then secured a 1-0 advantage after a 10-5 run underlined by a six-point splurge following Fajardo’s sixth marker.
Fajardo tried to keep up with the reigning UAAP Most Valuable Player in the second frame, getting as close as three points towards the half-game break at 11-8. However, Gadi shattered all hopes of a come-from-behind win with a vigorous 10-0 run that gave him the 21-10, 21-8 first-match victory.
Despite a dominant performance by Gadi in the first half, Blue Shuttler Justin Natividad had difficulty getting his own rhythm going early in the first game of the second singles match against Carlo Tengco. Natividad lagged behind by six at 5-11 in the half-game and gave the win away to UP at 19-21 despite exploding for an eight-point binge.
Eager to assure Team Ateneo of a comfortable 2-0 advantage, however, Natividad picked up the momentum of a first game win and rallied to a series of deadlocks and lead changes until an even 16-all count. He then went on a 5-0 run to force a third game.
Natividad truly turned the tables as he began the crucial third game with a four-point spree, but Tengco wouldn’t let the game get into the hands of his adversary. The Maroon mounted a gritty stand and saw himself ahead 17-15 late in the game. Despite trailing 17-19 towards the end, Natividad proved that it isn’t how you start the game but how you end it that matters.
The Blue Shuttler forced three consecutive errors out of Tengco: two were returns that went way out of the court and the third was an error on the net. But Tengco wouldn’t give up so easily. Natividad and Tengco rallied to a round of crosscourt hits, off-speed attacks and drop shots but they couldn’t seem to find a hole in each other’s defense, until the net decided who wins the game. A Natividad drive flew the shuttle on top of the net and what came in next was a loud roar from Natividad, as the shuttle dropped on the Maroon side for a 21-17 win to give the Blue Shuttlers a 2-0 cushion going to the first doubles match.
There was no better way to cement a fourth consecutive team win than to team up Gadi and Patrick Natividad. Clashing against UP’s Jon Masongsong and Gian Manuel, the Gadi–Natividad duo did not need to do anything more but ride the momentum.
Natividad and Gadi wasted no time to establish early dominance as they opened the first game with a 7-1 run and went to the half-game break leading by six at 11-5. They were in cruise control for the entire first chapter, with an efficient court coverage that keyed their win at 21-8.
But the Maroon side would try to pump back life in their third win bid. A couple of unforced Atenean errors led to points on the other side, which the Maroon tandem capitalized to put them within two at 9-11 midway the second game. UP still struggled until the 16-18 mark, but the Ateneo pair guaranteed that this would be as close as they’ll ever get. Natividad and Gadi fired a couple of smashes and strained a bungle off the UP squad to sweep them at three matches to none for Ateneo’s fourth win this season, with a 21-8, 21-16 triumph.
The meet pushed through with the remaining two matches that featured Arlo Madrid and JC Carlos against Tengco and Roberto Pineda for the second doubles showdown and the elder Natividad versus Joshua Malelang for the third singles contest.
Madrid and Carlos were troubled by early errors that saw them down by four in the mid-game, 7-11. Still behind at 15-20 towards the end, the Blue Shuttlers tried to snatch the game with 5 straight points that extended the contest, but UP wouldn’t let the Ateneans launch a full-blown rally. The Maroons ended the first game with clever placing that gave them a 22-20 win.
UP salvaged everything they could from the meet after a second game win, which they still wouldn’t get easily from the Blue squad at 21-17.
Natividad dampened any more shot for a second last-ditch effort with a 21-13, 21-16 demolition job of Malelang.
The Blue Shuttlers are pitching for their fifth straight win today, August 19, against University of the East at the RMSC Badminton Hall.
