THE UNIVERSITY of the Philippines (UP) and Ateneo supporters who were at the Rizal Memorial’s Badminton Hall on September 7 were treated to an exciting duel between the top two teams in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Women’s Badminton tournament.
A competition full of close calls, long rallies and tense moments, Game One of the Finals series between the second seeded Ateneo Lady Shuttlers and the top ranked UP Lady Maroons unraveled into an instant classic, with the latter taking the contest three matches to two.
For the first women’s singles match, Ateneo fielded in UAAP Season 76 Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year Bianca Carlos in hopes of starting strong and gaining an early lead in the contest.
Carlos was matched up with UP’s Bea Bernardo. Carlos took the first set with a decisive score of 21-11. Almost everyone expected Carlos to easily take the second set, but the Lady Maroon’s Bernardo shocked and struck back for a scrappy 23-21 victory, much to the delight of her teammates and the UP crowd.
Not to be outdone, Carlos regained composure and pulled away from Bernardo in the second half of the final set, which she won 21-16 to give Ateneo an initial 1-0 lead.
The second women’s singles match featured Ateneo’s Trixie Malibiran against UP’s Mary Ann Maranon. The contest started out tightly, but the Lady Maroon was able to form a 17-12 cushion. Despite a valiant effort from Malibiran to cut the deficit to two at 18-16, Maranon shut the door on the Lady Shuttler. After an exhausting final rally, Maranon won the first set 21-18.
The second set exhibited much the same scenario, with Maranon leading most of the set and Malibiran fighting back to bring the lead down to a single point at 16-15. Maranon again pulled away and won 21-16 as her final shot went in despite hitting the net first. Malibiran’s errors scattered throughout the match were taken advantage of by Maranon as UP tied up the tally at one apiece.
A strong combination of Bianca Carlos and Season 76 Team Captain Dia Magno for Ateneo went against UP’s tandem of Jessie Francisco and Maria Elisha Ongcuangco for the first doubles match of the day. Despite being down 15-17 late in the first set, the Atenean duo put together a string of six straight points to take the first set, 21-17. The second set started off very tightly, but the Ateneans, after taking an 11-9 lead into the break, steamrolled to a 21-13 win.
The synergy of Carlos’s quickness as she darted around the court and Magno’s powerful shots helped them to defeat the UP duo in straight sets. Once again, Ateneo gained the upper hand, 2-1.
The Lady Shuttlers were on the hill; one match away from stunning the team that swept the entire tournament until that point. UP then retaliated and proved why they went through the entire elimination round undefeated.
In the second doubles match, UP’s Marina Caculitan and Mary Ann Maranon played the Atenean pairing of Trixie Malibiran and freshman Cassie Lim. UP took the first set comfortably at 21-15, but the Ateneo duo bounced back emphatically as they led at 11-2 at the break and won the set 21-9.
In the third and final set, after the Lady Maroons gained the 11-10 lead, UP cruised to a 21-14 win over Malibiran and Lim. UP once again tied Ateneo with the score of 2-all, thus forcing a third and deciding singles match.
For the final match, UP called upon Jesse Francisco while Ateneo went with the heavy-hitting Dia Magno. With the score tied at 16-all, Francisco pushed ahead to win the first set, 21-18. In the second set, Magno was able to build up a five-point lead at 17-12, but Francisco was able to make a courageous comeback and tie the set at 18-all. It was deadlocked at 20-all, and again, at 22-all, before Francisco effectively shut the door on Ateneo. The possibility of a winner takes all third set was denied as Francisco won the second match with the score of 24-22.
UP took the final singles match, and with it, the first game of the Finals.UP overcame a 1-2 deficit to make the official tally 3-2.
Ateneo will need to beat UP thrice while the Lady Maroons will only be needing one more win to be crowned champions as they swept the entire tournament, thus gaining this advantage.
Ateneo will be looking to keep their hopes for a three-peat alive in the second game of the Finals, which shall be held this Wednesday, September 10, 1:00 pm at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall.
