The Ateneo Blue Netters fell short of capturing the victory in their showdown with the National University (NU) Bulldogs and the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons last January 11 and 12 at the Olivarez Tennis Center in Sucat, Parañaque.
Out of the ten athletes in the lineup for the Blue Netters, four are graduating senior. Given this, the squad wants nothing more than to get a podium finish in Season 76. The squad entered the season with high hopes, giving them some confidence as they begin their campaign against NU and UP in the tournament’s opening weekend.
Day 1
The Blue Netters’ confidence, however, was immediately contested as they were made to face-off with defending champions NU in their first assignment. They were unable to overcome last season’s winner as they finished the game with a 1-4 win-loss tally.
Johann Exconde was the representative of the Blue Netters in the first singles match of the day, while Julius Lagman competed in the third singles match. Both were unable to triumph over the Bulldogs; Exconde finished the two-set match with a 1-6 and 3-6 tally, while Lagman succumbed with a 3-6 and 0-6 mark.
Mark Balce, however, emerged victorious in the second singles match. He prevailed in three-sets, finishing with a 4-6, 7-5, and a 6-4 score card.
The tandem of Ino Canlas and AJ Rivero, however, fell short of defeating the Bulldogs in the first doubles match as they ended with a 4-6 and 3-6 tally. Anton Punzalan and Team Captain Andre Banate suffered the same fate, as the tandem finished Ateneo’s first match of the season with 4-6 and 2-6 set scores.
Day 2
The Blue Netters were eager to recover from their opening day loss to NU as they competed against UP on the second day of the competition.
The first match featured Julius Lagman going against Gelo Esguerra of the Fighting Maroons. The two engaged in a heated battle where neither allowed his opponent to gain a favorable lead.
Esguerra let on powerful shots at the start of the match that caught Lagman off-guard. The Blue Netter quickly recovered, however, by targeting the open zones of UP. Service aces from both sides kept them fired up for the win, but Lagman got careless with his reception towards the end of the match. This allowed the opponent to seize control of the game and end the fight with a 3-6 and 1-6 tally.
The second singles match proved to be the highlight for the day, as Ino Canlas defeated UP’s Joshua Cano in a two-set match that ended with set scores of 6-1 and 7-5. Throughout the game, Canlas easily displayed well-timed shots that Cano failed to return. He also unleashed lightning-fast serves that gave him an advantage alongside his powerful shots.
Team captain Andre Banate said that the team expected Canlas to win because they saw that “Kaya talaga niya [Canlas] and lamang siya sa buong game.”
Mark Balce, on the other hand, suffered a different fate at the hands of UP’s Jurence Mendoza. Balce succumbed with a tally of 1-6 in both sets.
In the first doubles match, the tandem of Andre Banate and AJ Rivero went up against UP’s Enrique Ferrer and Joshua Miranda and engaged in a close four-set match that ended with scores of 7-6, 1-6, and 4-6.
After dropping the first set to the Blue Netters, the Fighting Maroons adjusted their strategy and found a hole in Ateneo’s unsupported back zones. This, along with unforced errors from Ateneo, secured them the second set.
The Blue Netters capitalized on reception errors from UP during the early parts of the deciding set, but UP did not allow them to take the match. The Fighting Maroons increased their power shots which allowed them to secure the first singles match.
The last game that saw the tandem of Johann Exconde and Anton Punzalan take the court featured the same fate as the preceding doubles match. The Ateneo duo lost to Miggy Belda and Gabby Guttierez with a 2-6, 6-3, and 4-6 record.
After the matches against NU and UP, the Ateneo Blue Netters remain winless with a 0-2 record in the team standings.
As for their game plan for the next matches, Banate says, “We’ll look into our mistakes and correct them. We’ll try to be more aggressive with our shots and be mentally tougher since we had many heartbreaking three-set losses.”
The Blue Netters will look to secure its first victory of the season in their next match against University of Santo Tomas (UST) on Wednesday, January 15, at the Olivarez Tennis Center.
