BOTH THE Blue and Lady Eagles ended up empty handed on the Day 3 of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 Table Tennis Tournament on Thursday, September 28 at the University of the Philippines-Diliman College of Human Kinetics (UP CHK) Gym in Quezon City.

The Lady Eagles now hold a record of 1-5 after losing to both UAAP Season 79 runners-up University of Santo Tomas (UST) Golden Tigresses and last year’s champions De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Paddlers. In the Men’s Division, the Blue Eagles remain winless at 0-6 after falling victim to last season’s runners-up DLSU Green Paddlers and UST Growling Tigers, who were crowned Season 79 champions after finishing the tournament without a single loss.

Lady Eagles

The Lady Eagles were without the services of Captain Jane Dela Cruz as she was chosen to attend the Youth International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Leader’s Forum in Korea.

The Lady Eagles opened the day with a battle against the UST Lady Paddlers. The clash was primarily a back and forth affair, but in the end the Lady Eagles were taken down, losing out with a team-tie of 2-3.

The first singles match featured Joanna Chen against UST’s Kat Tempiatura. The momentum swayed between combatants in the first set, but Tempiatura eventually gained the upper hand, drawing first blood at 9-11. The second and third sets were a different story as Chen was plagued by errors, conceding the match in the final two sets sets at 5-11 and 3-11, respectively.

Hellari Calvo played a tight first set against Alburo in the second women’s singles and fell just short, 10-12. Calvo started strong in the second set, cruising past Alburo at 11-8 and turning up the heat to take a 14-12 victory in the third. Albura, however, struck back in the fourth set, forcing Calvo to surrender the set 6-11 to force a do-or-die fifth. A pressure-packed fifth set saw multiple lead changes, with neither paddler able to pull away. In a tense conclusion, it was Calvo who closed out the set and the match, 16-14, to put level the score at 1-1 in the team-tie.

The first women’s doubles match featured the duo of Cruz and Ubaldo, who fell victim to errors throughout the match, losing in straight sets, 5-11, 5-11, 5-11.

Nikki Reyes felt the jitters early in the third women’s singles match, conceding an error-filled first set, 8-11. The Lady Eagle then managed to recover, regaining her composure to cruise past UST’s Encarnacion, 11-8, 11-7, 11-9 and lock the team-tie at 2-2.

The tie-breaking and do-or-die third singles match pitted Sharmane Ong against Ara Perez. Strong play from Perez made short work of the Lady Eagle, giving UST the win in straight sets, 11-3, 11-7, 11-7, and the team tie at 2-3.

The Lady Eagles were outmatched in their later clash with archrivals DLSU, as they were unable to win only one set enroute to conceding the team tie, 0-3.

In the first singles match, Chen and DLSU’s Ina Co traded the first two sets, 5-11, 11-9. However, Co took over in the last two sets, winning both in convincing fashion, 4-11, 4-11.

Calvo was faced Season 79 Most Valuable Player (MVP) Emy Dael in the second singles contest, managing to claim Ateneo’s only set of the team-tie. The Lady Eagle struggled early as she fell into a two set hole, 5-11, 6-11. Although Calvo was able to keep in stride with Dael in the third set, errors got the best of the Lady Eagle as she lost 12-14 in the fourth.

With Ateneo’s backs against the wall, veteran Trina Cruz and rookie Sharmae Ong teamed up in the doubles clash with DLSU’s Denise Cai and Mardeline Carreon. Despite their best efforts, the Blue and White tandem were beaten down by their Lady Paddler counterparts in straight sets, 7-11, 7-11, 8-11.

Despite the results, Lady Eagle Hellari Calvo praised her team for their efforts against the day’s heavy competition. “Compared to the first and second days of UAAP, our team fought talaga.” Calvo specifically highlighted her team’s performance against UST saying, “UST was second place last year, and we only lost to UST 2-3, so (you can see) may chance.”

Blue Eagles

Day 3 was a tough outing for the the Blue Eagles as well, with the men securing just one team-tie victory against rival school, DLSU.

The first singles match pitted rookie Edrick Carlos against DLSU’s Francis Garganian. Despite prevailing in the first set, Carlos struggled to keep up the momentum in the second, with Garganian evening the score with an 11-5 win.  Carlos edged closer to the team-tie win in the third set at 8-11, but Garganian managed to dictate the pace in the last sets to take the victory at 6-11, 8-11.

The second singles match saw Jolo Matias square off against DLSU’s Ralph Nones. Following a loss in the first set, Matias bounced back and took the match in the next four, beating Nones at 8-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9.

The first doubles match was a rough showing for Andre Rondolo and Jasper Sy as they took on the Taft-based duo of Edward So and Nathan Siasco. The pair failed to get their rhythm going as they lost in straight sets, 5-11, 4-11, 5-11.

Working at a 1-2 disadvantage on the team-tie score, the cold streak continued for Ateneo as David Dayao took on DLSU’s Tarak Cabrido. Constant errors by Dayao allowed Cabrido to take the match in a quick three sets, 5-11, 8-11, 8-11.

The Blue and White were then shut out in their afternoon match against UST with a team tie score of 0-3.

Despite a strong showing against DLSU, Matias went down in straight sets against Paul Que, 4-11, 8-11, 5-11, in the first singles match.

Dayao was also swept aside by his UST counterpart Chebuel Andaloc in three sets. The Blue Eagle was unable to find his rhythm on the offensive end as he lost 6-11, 6-11, 6-11.

In the doubles contest, late rallies by the Blue Eagle duo of Team Captain Pal Rosete and Sy all fell short against UST’s Reymark Mabuang and Chris Mendoza. The Tigers began all three sets strongly, building up leads in each phase that the Blue Eagles were unable to make up for. The Ateneo tandem were defeated 7-11, 9-11, 8-11.

Blue Eagle Jolo Matias noted two attributes his team needed to improve on in suceeding days of competition. “We need to improve on our consistency and composure in the court because it’s very different in training and in the UAAP itself. There’s definitely more pressure.” said Matias

The Blue and Lady Eagles will aim to improve their respective records on Day 4 of Table Tennis action on Saturday, September 30, in the UP CHK Gym in Quezon City.

Team Tie and Set Scores

Lady Eagles

Ateneo-UST: 2-3

First Women’s Singles (Joana Chen vs Katrina Tempiatura): 9-11, 5-11, 3-11

Second Women’s Singles (Hellari Calvo vs Danica Alburo): 10-12, 11-8, 14-12, 6-11, 14-12

First Women’s Doubles (Trina Cruz and Trixie Ubando vs Kathleen Tempiatura and Rachel Parba): 5-11, 5-11, 5-11

Third Women’s Singles (Nikki Reyes vs Kate Encarnacion): 8-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-9

Fourth Women’s Singles (Sharmae Ong vs Ara Perez): 3-11, 7-11, 7-11

Ateneo-DLSU: 0-3

First Women’s Singles (Joana Chen vs Ina Co): 5-11, 11-9, 4-11, 4-11

Second Women’s Singles (Hellari Calvo vs Emy Dael): 5-11, 6-11, 12-14

First Women’s Doubles (Trina Cruz  and Sharmae Ong vs Denise Cai and Mardeline Carreon): 7-11, 7-11, 8-11

Blue Eagles

Ateneo-DLSU: 1-3

First Men’s Singles (Edrick Carlos vs Francis Garganian): 11-5, 8-11, 6-11, 8-11

Second Men’s Singles (Jolo Matias vs Ralph Nones): 8-11, 11-6, 11-8, 11-9

First Men’s Doubles (Andre Rondolo and Jasper Sy vs. Edward So and Nathan Siasco): 5-11, 4-11, 5-11

Third Men’s Singles (David Dayao vs. Tarak Cabrido): 5-11, 8-11, 8-11

Ateneo-UST: 0-3

First Men’s Singles (Jolo Matias vs Paul Que): 4-11, 8-11, 5-11

Second Men’s Singles (David Dayao vs Chebuel Andaloc): 6-11, 6-11, 6-11

First Men’s Doubles (Pao Rosete and Jasper Sy vs Reymark Mabuang and Chris Mendoza): 7-11, 9-11, 8-11

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