THE ATENEO Blue and Lady Eagles competed on Day 5 of the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 Table Tennis campaign on Sunday, October 1 at the University of the Philippines-Diliman College of Human Kinetics Gym in Quezon City.

The day resulted in back-to-back losses for both teams, with the Blue Eagles at 0-10, and the Lady Eagles at 2-8 in the elimination round standings of the tournament.

Lady Eagles

The Lady Eagles continued to face fierce competition against University of the Philippines (UP) and University of the East (UE), resulting in defeats for both games.

The Ateneo Women’s Table Tennis team opened the day against the UP Lady Maroons. The Battle of Katipunan ended with another loss for the Lady Eagles, with a team-tie score of 1-3.

It was a slow start for the Lady Eagles in the first singles matchup, with Lady Eagle Nikki Reyes having difficulty in putting up a fight against UP’s Celine Ching. After committing consecutive receiving errors and a number of missed shots, Reyes conceded three straight sets, 11-7, 11-7, 11-6.

Things began to look up in Hellari Calvo’s close contest against Jade Garcia of the Lady Maroons. After falling short in the first two sets, Calvo gained momentum and answered back, snagging the third and the fourth 12-10, 11-13. It was during the do-or-die fifth set when an intensified Calvo attempted to keep the set scores close. Despite Calvo’s best efforts, the Lady Eagle dropped the set, 7-11, for UP to take a two-point lead in the team-tie.

A heated doubles matchup saw Lady Eagles Trina Cruz and Sharmae Ong win against their UP counterparts, Fellane Labian and Nina Camacho, in a grueling five-set match. Despite a weak start, with a 4-11 loss in the first set, the Ateneo tandem fought back, forcing numerous lead changes in the second. The tight set ended with an error by Labian, handing it over to the Lady Eagles, 15-13. The third and fourth gave both teams one set apiece, with scores of 5-11 and 11-5, respectively. Cruz and Ong led as many as five points in the beginning of the fifth set, but a series of service errors and errors on the defensive end cut their lead down to one. Despite the lead swinging back and forth towards the end of the set, the Lady Eagles pulled through and celebrated their win, 13-11, claiming Ateneo’s only point of the team-tie.  

In the third singles match, Team Captain Jane Dela Cruz found difficulty in finding her rhythm against UP’s MC Capatan. Dela Cruz surrendered in three straight sets, 11-7, 11-7, 11-8, as errors plagued the Lady Eagle. This forced Ateneo to concede the team-tie, 1-3.

In their afternoon contest against UE, the Lady Eagles managed to play out five matches, but still failed to secure a win. The clash finished with a team-tie score of 2-3.

The first singles match saw Calvo cruise past UE’s Maria Celina Vasquez in three straight sets, 11-5, 11-9,11-7. The second singles match, however ended quickly for Lady Eagle Joanna Chen. The rookie lost in three sets, 11-4, 15-13, 11-8, against Lady Warrior Mary Elaine Garrucho. The Lady Eagles’ doubles representatives, Cruz and Ong showed much heart in their battle against UE’s Jesha Manggubat and Ila Mae Lague, keeping scores close throughout all five sets, 14-12, 7-11, 12-14, 11-9, 8-11. Because UE’s Galande suffered from a minor injury, Lady Eagle Reyes won the third singles matchup by default.

The last matchup between Ateneo’s Dela Cruz and UE’s Michelle Anne Abello ended in heartbreak for the Lady Eagles. After splitting the first four sets, 11-9, 9-11, 10-12, 11-7, pressure piled up on Dela Cruz in the fifth set. The Lady Eagle was eventually bested in the decider, 7-11, for the Lady Eagles to relinquish the team-tie to the Lady Warriors.

Blue Eagles

The Blue Eagles finished the day without a win after facing archrivals, De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers and University of the East (UE) Red Warriors.

The Blue Eagles suffered a tough loss against their archrivals in the first half of the day, with a team-tie score of 0-3.

Veteran Jolo Matias found himself outmatched by his opponent, Francis Garganian, losing in three straight sets, 8-11, 9-11, 8-11. In the same fashion, Blue Eagle Edric Carlos struggled to keep up with Green Archer Tarak Cabrido. Carlos was overpowered by Cabrido’s offense while also falling victim to a series of receiving errors. The match ended in three straight sets, 3-11, 4-11, 3-11.

The doubles matchup showed potential to claim a match for the team-tie for the Blue Eagles. It was a promising first set for the Blue and White with the doubles team of Andre Rondolo and Jasper Sy winning the set, 12-10 against DLSU counterparts, Nathan Siasco and Edward So. Things began to slow down as the Ateneo duo committed a number of errors, finishing the set with a score of 4-11. The tandem was able to take the lead again, winning the third set, 11-8. However, the Blue Eagles fell in the fourth, 3-11, as the match was tie at two sets apiece. The match ended in disappointment for the Blue Eagles, with Rondolo and Sy committing a number of errors on the offensive end in the fifth set, handing over the win to DLSU at 8-11.

The Blue Eagles continued to struggle in the afternoon, closing the day with a 1-3 team-tie score against the UE Red Warriors.

First to represent the Blue and White was David Dayao, who floundered against UE’s Sandro Paul Cortez, losing in three straight sets, 11-1, 11-6, 11-9.  Dayao was unable to keep up with Cortez, failing to keep away Cortez’s attacks. In the second match, Matias effortlessly bagged the first two sets, 11-9, 11-2, against Justin Pacana. The Red Warriors answered back right away, tying the match at two sets apiece in the third and fourth quarter, 11-6 and 11-5, respectively. Despite the pressure mounting in the fifth set for the Ateneo veteran, he managed to pull through and get the sole win for the team-tie, closing the set at 11-8.

In the doubles event, Rondolo and Sy also struggled against their UE counterparts, Mc Africa and Chun Chang Wu, dropping all three sets, 5-11, 7-11, 7-11.

In the fourth singles match, Blue Eagle James Somontina also found difficulty against Nestor Estrella Jr. of UE. Somontina was able to remain composed throughout the match, but was swept aside by his opponent, 7-11, 6-11, 7-11, sealing the win for UE.  

Day 6 of the UAAP tournament for Ateneo Table Tennis will resume on Wednesday, October 4 at the UP Diliman College of Human Kinetics Gym in Quezon City.

Team Tie and Set Scores

Lady Eagles

Ateneo-UP: 1-3

First Women’s Singles (Reyes vs. C. Ching): 7-11, 7-11, 6-11

Second Women’s Singles (Calvo vs. Garcia): 5-11, 8-11, 12-10, 13-11, 7-11

First Women’s Doubles (Cruz and Ong vs. Labian and Camacho): 4-11, 15-13, 11-5, 13-11

Third Women’s Singles (Dela Cruz vs. Capatan): 7-11, 7-11, 8-11

Ateneo-UE: 2-3

First Women’s Singles (Calvo vs. Vasquez): 11-5, 11-9, 11-7

Second Women’s Singles (Chen vs. Garrucho): 11-4, 15-13, 11-8

First Women’s Doubles (Cruz and Ong vs. Manggubat and Lague): 14-12, 7-11, 12-14, 11-9, 8-11

Third Women’s Singles (Reyes vs. Galande): 11-0, 11-0, 11-0

Fourth Women’s Singles (Dela Cruz vs. Abello): 11-9, 9-11, 10-12, 11-7, 7-11.

Blue Eagles

Ateneo-DLSU: 0-3

First Men’s Singles (Matias vs. Garganian): 8-11, 9-11, 8-11

Second Men’s Singles (Carlos vs. Cabrido): 11-3, 11-4, 11-3

First Men’s Doubles (Sy and Rondolo vs. So and Siasco): 12-10, 4-11, 11-8, 3-11, 8-11

Ateneo-UE: 0-3

First Men’s Singles (Dayao vs. Cortez): 1-11, 6-11, 9-11

Second Men’s Singles (Matias vs. Pacana): 11-9, 11-2, 5-11, 6-11, 11-8

First Men’s Doubles (Rondolo and Sy vs. Africa and Wu): 5-11, 7-11, 7-11

Third Men’s Singles (Somontina vs. Estrella): 7-11, 6-11, 7-11