THE UNDEFEATED Ateneo Lady Shuttlers booked a return trip to the finals after exacting revenge on the University of the East (UE) Lady Shuttlers, 3-2, in a rematch of last season’s finals. The victory over UE capped off a phenomenal elimination round run for the Lady Shuttlers, who are still flawless in the team standings. Their 7-0 record is also an improvement over last year’s 6-1 finish.

Reigning Rookie of the Year Gelita Castilo opened festivities for the Blue and White against UE’s Andres in the first singles match. Castilo was once again impressive as she obliterated her opponent 21-5, 21-9 to give Ateneo the early 1-0 lead.

Rookie sensation Jana De Vera built 0n the momentum Castilo established for Ateneo in the second singles match. De Vera ousted UE’s Gatpolintan 21-12, 21-15 to strengthen her bid for this year’s Rookie of the Year plum and give Ateneo a 2-0 advantage.

With two matches already in the bag, the Lady Shuttlers looked to the top-ranked Philippine Badminton Ranking System doubles tandem of Gelita Castilo and Dia Magno to deliver the decisive third victory.

The tandem of Castilo and Magno dispatched UE’s pair of Pamorada and Andres 21-14, 21-14 to seize the W in the team tie and assure Ateneo of a perfect 7-0 record.

A mixture of youth and experience was on display in the second doubles match, as team captain Lisa Encarnacion and De Vera tried to keep Ateneo rolling. The duo, however, dropped consecutive games, 16-21, 20-22.

In the final match for the Lady Shuttlers, sophomore Magno took on UE’s Pamorada. Magno won a convincing first game, 21-13, before dropping the final two games 19-21, 19-21. Pamorada’s win allowed UE to salvage a second point in the team tie, but it no longer had any bearing on the outcome of the encounter between last year’s top two teams.

Asked whether the idea of a perfect 7-0 record crossed her mind entering the season—especially since the team was fielding a relatively strong lineup—Encarnacion said, “Well, it was kind of our goal from the start. Definitely knew it was a possibility and I had a lot of faith that it could happen. We were careful not to jinx it by being too overconfident.”

By staying hungry despite their success all throughout the elimination round, the Lady Shuttlers now find themselves in the finals once again with a thrice-to-beat advantage, thanks to their perfect 7-0 record. Beating UE for such an advantage in the finals was the icing on the cake.