THE ATENEO Blue and Lady Shuttlers showed impressive performances on August 8 and 9 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in their opening matches for the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 77 Badminton competition.
Blue Shuttlers
It was an impressive two-day performance for the Blue Shuttlers as they easily defeated University of Santo Tomas (UST) in a 4-1 victory and a valiantly gave a 2-3 thriller against De La Salle University (DLSU).
“Overall, it’s been a good performance,” said Season 76 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Pawee Natividad on his analysis for the defending champions.
Day one opened with a three-match winning streak for the Blue Shuttlers against UST.
Freshman Carlo Remo gave Ateneo their first win of the season in a two-set sweep against UST, 21-17 and 22-20.Veteran P. Natividad followed and showed his dominance over the Growling Tigers in an easy 2-0 win with the score of 21-11 and 21-17.
Team Captain Justin Natividad and sophomore Theo Co delivered Ateneo’s third straight win in a set score of 2-1 with 21-13, 12-21 and 21-12.
Although Patrick Gecosala and P. Natividad conceded the fourth match in a 0-2 loss to UST, 20-22 and 14-21, J. Natividad bounced back immediately in the final match of the day. He rallied in a three-set victory with the score of 21-9, 22-20, and 21-16.
The Blue Shuttlers again started strong in day two with back-to-back wins against DLSU.
Brothers Justin and Pawee Natividad each won their respective singles matches in a 2-1 fashion. J. Natividad won against DLSU with 16-21, 21-10 and 21-14 while the older P. Natividad won his match with 21-17, 18-21 and 21-10.
DLSU, however, bounced right back in a three-match thriller against the Blue Shuttlers.
Ateneo conceded both doubles matches to DLSU with J. Natividad and Remo losing in 0-2 with 15-21 and 16-21. The valiant effort of P. Natividad and Co also wasn’t enough as they dropped two sets with 14-21 and 18-21.
Remo also conceded the last singles match of the day at 13-21 and 18-21.
Even with a 4-1 win against UST and a 2-3 loss to DLSU, the Blue Shuttlers still carry the mindset to defend their title given the steady performances of their rookies.
Remo shared after his debut match his expectations for the rest of the season, “[To] just win the championship with my teammates and hopefully get the rookie of the year.”
Lady Shuttlers
Day one saw the Lady Shuttlers drop three matches to their Katipunan neighbors, the University of the Philippines (UP), in 1-3. The loss ended the Lady Shuttler’s 18-game winning streak. Day two was a comeback for Ateneo as they easily defeated UST in a 3-1 victory.
The Lady Shuttlers started the opening day with Season 76 Rookie of the Year and MVP Bianca Carlos in an overpowering 2-0 win with 24-22 and 21-14.
The Lady Shuttlers struggled afterward as they dropped three straight matches to the Lady Maroons.
Day two, however, proved to be on the Lady Shuttler’s side as they cruised through UST with a 3-1 win.
Carlos led the Lady Shuttlers again as she dominated the first singles match with the score of 21-7 for both sets.
Even if Ateneo dropped the first doubles match, victories for Trisha Malibiran, along with that of the pair of Dia Magno and Janel Dihiansan, led to the Lady Shuttlers’ eventual 3-1 win against UST.
For Blue Shuttlers veteran P. Natividad, his prospects for the teams’ performances were a good sign for the future.
“Tingin ko maganda future ng team na ito kasi first game pa lang, lumalabas na ‘yung laro (I think the future of this team is bright given how the team’s game is showing up as early as the first match).”
The Blue and Lady Shuttlers are currently both at a 1-1 standing and are well and alive in their respective title defenses. Their next matches will still be at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex on August 13, 16, 17, 23 and 24 starting at 9:00 AM for the Blue Shuttlers and 1:00 PM for the Lady Shuttlers.
