THE ATENEO Lady Eagles lost against University of the Philippines (UP), 1-3 on Wednesday, October 14 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex Badminton Hall.

Bianca Carlos led the way for the Blue and White, as she won their lone match with set scores of 21-12 and 21-14. Despite struggling early on with some routine shots against Paola Bernardo, she eventually found her form and delivered her signature dominant performance. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the rest of the Lady Eagles.

Head Coach Kennie Asuncion-Robles notes that one of the key factors in their loss was the difference between the two teams’ stamina. UP was able to skip the semifinal round by virtue of sweeping the elimination round–thus going to this finals game well-rested. Meanwhile, Ateneo had just come from a hard-earned semifinal victory against twice-to-beat De La Salle University on Sunday, October 11.

“We’ll try to get [the team] more well-rested over the next two days,” Asuncion-Robles said. “With the same goal parin of really fighting it out. No surrender until the end.”

This loss puts the Lady Eagles three wins away from winning the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 78 badminton championship.

Game two is scheduled at 1PM, Saturday, October 17 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex Badminton Hall.