THE ATENEO lady shuttlers triumphed against rivals De La Salle University (DLSU) three games to zero on Saturday, October 8, 2016 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.
The 3-0 team-tie in favor of Ateneo is their second straight win over DLSU, nullifying the two-to-beat advantage DLSU held over Ateneo going into the semi-finals showdown.
Ateneo Lady Eagles Team Captain Bianca Carlos resumed her first singles duties, as she took on DLSU’s Sevilla in the first match of the team-tie. Carlos surprisingly found herself trailing to Sevilla by a large margin of seven points after the first nine points played (1-8). Though the Lady Eagle mounted a challenge to gain a foothold in the set, she could not overcome the deficit by the interval (9-11). Sevilla continued to pressure Carlos into several errors as the game wore on, with the Ateneo lady shuttlers captain having failed to lead at any given point within the match. Sevilla claimed a double set-point at 18-20 but was unable to overcome a determined Carlos who forced two deuces before dramatically claiming the first set (23-21). Sevilla continued to pressure Carlos in the second set (3-3), but the Blue and White shuttler brushed off any attempt to take control of the set. Carlos maintained the lead all throughout the game until she claimed the set at 21-16, giving Ateneo the team-tie advantage of 1-0.
In a repeat of the first leg of the semifinals showdown, Ateneo’s Trixie Malibiran faced-off with DLSU’s Rivera in the second singles of the day. Malibiran exerted her dominance despite Rivera’s height advantage, as she led until the interval (11-7). Rivera’s late push allowed her to equal Malibiran on points but the Ateneo lady shuttler was still able to claim the set (21-18). The second set saw Rivera remain dominant throughout its initial stage establishing a strong lead by the interval (8-11). The latter stages of the set saw Malibiran replicate Rivera’s first set push to level the points at 18-all. The ever-resilient Malibiran gave Rivera no headway as she claimed the match with a second set score of 21-19. Ateneo now led by two to La Salle’s zero.
One match-win away from claiming a finals spot in this season’s UAAP Badminton tournament, Carlos and Chanelle Lunod took to the court to do battle against Lady Archers Leonardo and Sevilla. Ateneo established its dominance by taking the interval, 11-9, despite some great efforts by the La Salle duo. Carlos and Lunod claimed the set at 21-18 to further pile pressure on the Green and Whites who were a set away from conceding a finals spot. The initial stages of the set illustrated the difference between the confident pairing of Carlos and Lunod and the nervous duo of Leonardo and Sevilla, with Ateneo going into the interval with a six-point lead. A late string of errors saw the Ateneo supporters slide to the edge of their seats as the Blue and Whites almost conceded a quintuple match-point (20-15). Though the audience was made to wait, the Lady Eagles got what they deserved when Sevilla mishit a baseline smash to award Ateneo a place in the finals (21-19).
Team Captain Bianca Carlos was clearly very ecstatic about the win against rivals DLSU, saying their performance was “super good, sobrang ganda, super good talaga.” Also looking ahead to the showdown against University of the Philippines (UP), Carlos was eager to brush off any memories of their UAAP opening defeat to their finals opponents, stating the result was because of a lack of “the UAAP feel…and rhythm.” Carlos is confident that the Lady Eagles will impress against the Lady Maroons given their recent performances.
The Ateneo lady shuttlers will take on UP in a best-of-three showdown, with the first game being played on Sunday, October 8, at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.
