The Ateneo Men’s Lawn Tennis Team displayed composure and a winning mentality, carefully dispatching the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 3-2, in the conclusion of the first round of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 Men’s Lawn Tennis tournament on February 18 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center in Manila.
Rookie Bong Gonzales was fielded against Josh Cano of UP in one of the first three simultaneous games. After racing off to a 3-0 start in the first set, a string of errors began to plague Gonzales, who went on to drop the first set of the match at 4-6. The Senior Maroon proved to be too much for the rookie to handle, winning the game handily at a 4-6, 4-6 finish.
Frustrations ran high in the first doubles event, where the Blue Eagle tandem of Julian Dayrit and Anton Punzalan faced UP’s Vincent Alanis and Auden Padugonan. After dropping the first set at 3-6, continuous errors eventually cost Ateneo the match, 6-3, 7-6.
Down 0-2 in the team-tie, the Blue Eagles needed to win all three of their remaining matches to defeat UP and scrape a win.
The team’s ever-reliable captain, Ino Canlas, was the first to draw blood for Ateneo, besting Joel Atienza of UP to get the Blue Eagles on the board. Veteran composure was on display for Canlas, who snagged four straight games to prevail at 7-5 in an intense first set. His domination carried over to the second set, where he outclassed his UP foe to take the match at 6-1.
Still on the brink of losing in the team-tie at this point, Ateneo sent in veteran Marcen Gonzales to duel with Kyle Joseph at center court in the third singles match of the day. Gonzales went on to thrash the defeated Joseph, 6-0, in the second set to even the team-tie score at 2-2.
With the crowd behind them and the momentum on their side, the Blue Eagles placed their hopes on the duo of Luke Flores and Erj Gatdula, who faced UP’s Elijah Arevalo and Mimo Tomacruz in a do-or-die second doubles match.
Trailing 0-2 in the first set, the Blue Eagles fought tooth and nail to turn the tables. They managed to reverse the scoreline to take the set, 6-3. The second set, however, came down to the wire as the Maroons rallied back to claim the second and force the tiebreaker. All out support from the crowd fueled the Blue Eagle pair on the court, as they rose valiantly in the dying moments of the match and hand the victory to their side with a heartstopping 7(7)-6(2) finish.
“This was the first crucial victory they won,” said Coach Gee Abacan, referring to Flores and Gatdula. “I’m so proud of them. They pulled through today.”
The Blue Eagles wrap up the first round with an even 2-2 record. They are currently locked in a three-way tie with De La Salle University and University of Santo Tomas for the second seed.
Team-tie score
Ateneo 3 UP 2
Set scores
First singles match: Ino Canlas (Ateneo) def. Joel Atienza (UP), 7-5, 6-1.
Second singles match: Josh Cano (UP) def. Bong Gonzales (Ateneo), 6-4, 6-4.
Third singles match: Marcen Gonzales (Ateneo) def. Kyle Joseph (UP), 6-4, 6-0.
First doubles match: Vincent Alanis and Auden Padugonan (UP) def. Julian Dayrit and Anton Punzalan (Ateneo), 6-3, 7(7)-6(3).
Second doubles match: Luke Flores and Erj Gatdula (Ateneo) def. Elijah Arevalo and Mimo Tomacruz (UP), 6-3, 7(7)-6(2).
