THE ATENEO Blue and Lady Paddlers concluded the first elimination round of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines Season 77 table tennis tournament held at the Blue Eagle Gym last September 13 to 14.
It was not the debut Head Coach Mario Brevia was hoping for, with both of his squads failing to crack a single win against any of their opponents in the first two days of competition.
Blue Paddlers
Despite sporting a revamped lineup, which includes a slew of promising recruits, the Blue Paddlers failed to net a single point on the win column.
Nevertheless, the first day saw prized rookie John Lloyd Matias and veteran Karl Uy able to earn their keep as they narrowly bested their opponents, both with the set scores of 3-2 in the first two matches against National University. Unfortunately, their efforts were in vain as their team wound up dropping the next three matches to fall to a final record of 3-2.
Uy also gave a great showing in the match against the University of Sto. Tomas, dominating his rival in straight sets, 3-0, before his teammates dropped the next three matches to the Tigers. The Blue Paddlers also dropped their game against the University of the Philippines in straight matches.
The second day lent a pair of heartbreakers to the Blue and White as they went down the wire against both Adamson University (AdU) and the University of the East (UE), only to come up short.
Uy took home the first match against UE, winning it in five sets, 3-2. The doubles pairing of Kyle Lao and John Dayao replicated his feat as they also won their match in five sets. Brevia fielded in for Ateneo in the deciding match to a rookie, Franz Rosete, who dropped his match in straight sets.
It was Uy yet again who drew first blood for Ateneo against AdU, going head to head with Kent Octavo and finished the match with a grueling set score of 19-17. His win was complemented by the doubles pairing of John Dayao and Kyle Lao who both defeated their AdU opponents in the third match of their contest with a final score of 3-1.
The fifth and final match of the contest was in the hands of another rookie, Matias, who dueled with AdU’s John Enal until finally succumbing to the latter in five sets, with the match scores of 11-7, 6-11, 11-13, 11-1 and 11-5.
The Blue Paddlers also dropped their bouts against De La Salle University (DLSU) and the Far Eastern University (FEU) over the weekend that positioned Ateneo at last place with the 0-7 record.
Lady Paddlers
The Lady Paddlers experienced a similar fate as their counterparts, failing to win a single tilt throughout the weekend.
The most heated game occurred in the first day, where the individual efforts of Lexine Uy and Jane Dela Cruz decimated their AdU opponents with match scores of 3-0 and 3-2 respectively to gain the first two points of the game.
However, the AdU squad unleashed an onslaught of their own, with Yvonne Pangantijon, Yvonne Diaño and Ella Quiñosa all winning their matches with scores of 3-1, 0-3 and 0-3 respectively, as they completed the comeback against the paddlers of Katipunan.
Dela Cruz also sneaked in a win against the National University, drawing first blood for the Ateneans before their rivals took home the next three matches.
The rest of the games, however, were not what they hoped for as they dropped their match against the University of Santo Tomas on the first day . The second day feautered losses against the University of the Philippines, DLSU and FEU in straight sets.
The second elimination round of the tournament will be held on September 20 to 21 at the Blue Eagle Gym.
