THE ATENEO Men’s and Women’s Table Tennis teams showed marked signs of improvement despite mixed showings in their respective Day 4 matches at the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 Table Tennis Tournament.

The matches were held today at the University of the Philippines (UP)-Diliman College of Human Kinetics (CHK) Gym.

The Lady Eagles now hold a record of 2-6 after losing the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors in the morning and winning over the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs during their succeeding match in the afternoon.

On the other hand, the Blue Eagles are still in search of their first win at 0-8, having been clipped by the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons to complete the first round in the morning, and then faltering to the University of the Philippine (UP) Fighting Maroons to begin the second round in the afternoon.

Lady Eagles

The Lady Eagles took UE to five matches, but ultimately failed to claim the victory over the Lady Warriors.

In the first singles match, Lady Eagle Nikki Reyes faced UE’s Vasquez. After dropping the first set, 10-12, Reyes was on the brink of defeat in the second, facing an 8-10 scoreline against Vasquez. Reyes, however, showed much resolve, fighting back to win the second set, 14-12. Despite showing resilience under mounting pressure, Reyes struggled in the next two sets, eventually losing both 9-11, 6-11.

Hellari Calvo squared off against UE’s Garrucho in the second singles match. Calvo gained the upper hand early on, taking the first set with a convincing 11-3 scoreline. Garrucho then grinded out three straight sets, 9-11, 9-11, 10-12, to hand UE a two match lead in the team l-tie.

The Lady Eagle tandem of Trina Cruz and Sharmae Ong faced UE’s Manggubat and Lague in a pressure-packed doubles match. The duos exchanged shots between the first four sets, with neither pair able to take full control. After the Lady Eagles took the first set 12-10, the Lady Warriors came back to win the second at 5-11. Cruz and Ong displayed smooth teamwork on offense to win the third, 11-8, but the UE pair shot back, 7-11, to force a decisive fifth set. In the do-or-die final set, the Lady Eagles recovered from a 3-6 disadvantage to win the set at 11-7, keeping Ateneo alive in the team tie.

With Jane Dela Cruz winning the third singles match by default, it was up to Joana Chen to salvage a victory for the Blue and White against UE’s Abello. Despite her best efforts, Chen fell to UE’s closer in four sets at 8-11, 9-11, 11-8, 7-11 for Ateneo to conclude the first round with a record of 1-6.

The Lady Eagles then began the second round strong, beating NU with a 3-1 team-tie score.

Joana Chen made up for her earlier loss to UE with a handful of powerful forehand winners to overcome NU’s Garcia. Chen earned the first two sets, 12-10, 11-8, but dropped the third set, 6-11. An intense fourth set saw Chen play a composed match on the tables, powering through, 15-13, to win the first singles match.

Calvo then followed up in similar fashion with a win of her own over NU’s Rodriguez in the second singles match. The Lady Eagle was consistent in her strokes and smart with her shot placement, dominating the table for a well deserved straight set victory, 12-10, 11-2, 11-9.

Although Cruz and Ong prevailed against UE, the Lady Eagle duo struggled in their battle with NU’s tandem of Albandia and Ramirez, as the Blue and White pair fell in three sets, 4-11, 8-11, 6-11.

Nikki Reyes took to the tables for her singles match against NU’s Sandalla. Although Reyes was able to claim the first two sets, 11-9, 13-12, despite being plagued by errors on the offensive end, she surrendered the next two sets, 3-11, 7-11, to set up a fifth and final showdown. Reyes showed nerves of steel to calmly sink her opponent, 11-5, sealing the Lady Eagles’ second victory in Season 80.

“Team performance namin, sobrang nag-improve kaysa sa first round. Sobrang thankful (ako) kasi lahat sa team nag-contribute (Our team performance was much improved compared to the first round. I’m really thankful because everyone was able to contribute),” Reyes said after their first match with UE.

Reyes, however, also identified focus as one point the team could be better at. “Point to improve on is focus [to win by] straight sets, kasi kaya naman sa straight sets manalo” (A point to improve on is focus to win by straight sets, because we are capable of winning in straight sets).

Blue Eagles

Despite losing both their matches at a 0-3 scoreline, the Blue Eagles exhibited promising performances as they continue to fight towards their first victory of the season.

The Blue Eagles lacked the services of Team Captain Pao Rosete who had to attend to academic commitments.

Rookie Jigo Sison made his UAAP debut against AdU’s Fernandez in the first singles match. After splitting the first two sets with Fernandez, 6-11, 11-6, Sison lost his footing and was downed in the next two sets, 7-11, 4-11.

In the second singles match, Jolo Matias was overpowered by AdU’s Bendebel in straight sets. Matias proved no match for Bendebel, as the Blue Eagle conceded defeat in straight sets, 4-11, 6-11, 3-11.

The doubles pair of Andre Rondolo and Jasper Sy squared off against AdU’s Coroza and Balanquit. Even after dropping the first two sets, 10-12, 4-11, the Blue Eagles did not give up, fighting to keep their team alive and winning the third set, 11-8. The Soaring Falcons, however, claimed this battle, as Rondolo and Sy lost the fourth set, 3-11, for Ateneo to drop the team tie.

In their afternoon match, the Blue Eagles went to battle with the UP Fighting Maroons in the second round of the “Battle of Katipunan.”

Ateneo fielded James Somontina against UP’s Rivera in the first singles match. Somontina lost the first two sets, 5-11, 3-11, but was able to pull one back and win the third set, 11-9. In the fourth set, Rivera managed to pull away early and never relented, besting Somontina 6-11 to put UP ahead in the team tie.

In the second singles match, David Dayao was chosen to face UP’s Chua. Dayao was able to keep in step with his foe in the first two sets, but the Blue Eagle fell, 8-11, 9-11 in the next two. With his back against the wall, Dayao pushed Chua to the edge, but the Blue Eagle was unable to take a set off the Fighting Maroon, as he lost the third set, 11-13.

With the team tie hanging in the balance, Rondolo and Sy clashed with UP’s Cagas and Santelices. The Ateneo duo surprised the Maroons in the first set, jumping to an early lead and drawing first blood, 11-5, but the UP duo then struck back taking the second set, 8-11.

However, another strong attacking display from the Blue Eagles saw them take the third set, 11-6. Rondolo and Sy nearly claimed the fourth, but late errors spelled their downfall in a 14-16 finish to set up a deciding set. Rondolo and Sy continued to battle, but were eventually tripped up by the Maroons, 9-11, forcing Ateneo to open their second round campaign with a loss.

Despite the results, Rondolo praised his team’s efforts saying, “I saw Jolo [Matias] fighting. I saw Jigo doing his best. I saw James, I saw David. Everyone was going all out. The only adjustment we can make is we keep doing what we do and hopefully, in the near future, we’ll be able to pull of that win that we’re looking for.”

The Blue and Lady Eagles continue their respective second round campaigns on Day 5 of Table Tennis action on Sunday, October 1, in the UP CHK Gym in Quezon City.

Team Tie and Set Scores

Lady Eagles

Ateneo-UE: 2-3

First Women’s Singles (Nikki Reyes vs Vasquez): 10-12, 14-12, 9-11, 6-11

Second Women’s Singles (Hellari Calvo vs Garrucho): 11-3, 9-11, 9-11, 10-12

First Women’s Doubles (Trina Cruz and Sharmae Ong vs Manggubat and Lague): 12-10, 5-11, 11-8, 7-11, 11-7

Third Women’s Singles (Jane Dela Cruz vs Galande): 11-0, 11-0, 11-0

Fourth Women’s Singles (Joana Chen vs Abello): 8-11, 9-11, 11-8, 7-11

Ateneo-NU: 3-1

First Women’s Singles (Joana Chen vs Garcia): 12-10, 11-8, 6-11, 15-13

Second Women’s Singles (Hellari Calvo vs Rodriguez): 12-10, 11-2, 11-9

First Women’s Doubles (Trina Cruz  and Sharmae Ong vs Albandia and Ramirez): 4-11, 8-11, 6-11

Third Women’s Singles (Nikki Reyes vs Sandalla): 11-9, 13-11, 3-11, 7-11, 11-5

Blue Eagles

Ateneo-AdU: 0-3

First Men’s Singles (Jigo Sison vs Fernandez): 6-11, 11-6, 7-11, 4-11

Second Men’s Singles (Jolo Matias vs Bendebel): 4-11, 6-11, 3-11

First Men’s Doubles (Andre Rondolo and Jasper Sy vs Coroza and Balanquit): 10-12, 4-11, 11-8, 3-11

Ateneo-UP: 0-3

First Men’s Singles (James Somontina vs Rivera): 5-11, 3-11, 11-9, 6-11

Second Men’s Singles (David Dayao vs Chua): 8-11, 9-11, 11-13

First Men’s Doubles (Andre Rondolo and Jasper Sy vs Cagas and Santelices): 11-5, 8-11, 11-6, 14-16, 9-11

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