THE ATENEO Men’s Badminton team defeated the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers in Season 80 of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) by a 4-1 scoreline on Saturday, September 24 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.
The victory sees the Blue Eagles improve to a 2-0 win-loss record in the tournament, with strong performances from team captain Carlo Remo and last season’s Rookie of the Year Keoni Asuncion.
Asuncion featured in the first Men’s Singles, taking on DLSU’s Jerick Obaob. The first set saw both combatants fight neck and neck, with Obaob eventually managing to pull away with the first set at 21-19. However, Asuncion responded well in the succeeding sets, taking the second and third sets by scores of 21-16 and 21-12 respectively.
Remo then stepped up for the second singles match of the day, going head-to-head with Glenn Camillo. Even with minor unforced errors plaguing the captain, Remo went on to take the first set at 21-19. In the second set, Remo found himself scoring off numerous DLSU errors to take the set at 21-17.
Team veteran Clarence Filart teamed up with Patrick Gecosala in the first doubles contest, clashing with the DLSU tandem of Obaob and Cayel Pajarillo. With their team-tie hopes on the line, DLSU displayed improved concentration as they went on to take the first set at 21-18. Gecosala and Filart, however, recovered in the second set. The duo dominated the whole set early on before eventually falling victim to a barrage of unforced errors that saw them concede the set and game at 22-20.
Asuncion and Remo entered the second doubles match of the day knowing that a win would earn a team-tie victory for the Blue and White. The pair were ruthless as they steamrolled DLSU’s Monterubio and Pineda tandem to 21-15 and 21-18 victories.
Having taken the team-tie, the Blue and White deployed Filart to go head-to-head with Pajarillo in the final game of the day. Filart conceded the first set at 24-26, before taking the next two sets at 21-13 and 21-8 to close out the team-tie.
After the match, Remo commended his team’s performance, “[The victory] feels great—we just really fought and played the game at our pace.”
The Blue Eagles will go head-to-head with the University of the East (UE) on Friday, September 29 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.
Match Score
Ateneo-DLSU: 4-1
Set Scores
First Men’s Singles (Asuncion vs Obaob): 19-21, 21-16, 21-12
Second Men’s Singles (Remo vs Camillo): 21-19, 21-17
First Men’s Doubles (Filart and Gecosala vs Obaob and Pajarillo): 18-21, 20-22
Second Men’s Doubles (Asuncion and Remo vs Monterubio and Pineda): 21-15, 21-18
Third Men’s Singles (Filart vs Pajarillo): 24-26, 21-13, 21-8
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