THE ATENEO Blue Eagles fell to the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors in the final elimination round match of their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 80 Men’s Lawn Tennis campaign, with a team-tie score of 1-4. The loss signifies UE’s pending twice-to-beat advantage, a privilege awarded to teams who manage to finish elimination rounds on an undefeated record. All matches were played on Sunday, March 11 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
Ateneo Coach Gee Abacan noted how the tournament’s unpredictable nature seemed to benefit the Red Warriors in today’s contest. “They played their best and their scores were decent. In fact, our lineup was right. It just so happened that the matchups didn’t favor us. We didn’t like each matchup given to us,” Abacan says.
The first singles match featured a showdown between arguably the two best collegiate-level Men’s Lawn Tennis players in the tournament: Ateneo Team Captain Ino Canlas and UE’s AJ Lim. Lim, the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player, proved his dominance carefully dispatching Canlas, 6-1, 6-1 to put UE on the board in the team-tie.
Simultaneously on center court, Blue Eagles Luke Flores and Erj Gatdula faced the Red Warrior duo of Veric Delos Santos and Justine Guira. Having previously defeated them in the first round, the Blue Eagle duo continued their high-octane attack as they won the match in a quick two sets, 6-3, 6-1. However, this would be the only point Ateneo would score in the team-tie.
AJ Rivero played his season debut match in the single’s division for the Blue and White against UE’s Joshua Kinaadman. In the first set, the Blue Eagle was inches away from securing the set point, but a costly unforced error forced him to drop the tiebreaker, 7(7)-6(5). Kinaadman would then capitalize on the momentum, taking the game in two sets, 7-6, 6-3.
With Ateneo needing to win their remaining matches to secure a victory in the team-tie, Julian Dayrit and Bong Gonzales (Ateneo) were tasked to compete against the undefeated doubles pair of Rogelio Estaño and RJ Saga (UE). The Blue Eagles showed promise in the first set, finishing with a commanding score of 6-3. However, the veteran Red Warriors unleashed a well-calculated attack in the following sets, closing out the game, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. The match concluded UE’s victory of Ateneo in the team-tie.
The last match was a non-bearing contest between Ateneo’s Marcen Gonzales and UE’s Rodolfo Barquin. Barquin, who Coach Abacan describes as Gonzales’ contrapelo, noted that Barquin’s style of play provides the perfect counter against Gonzales’ style. True enough, he handed the Blue Eagle a difficult match as Barquin took the game in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4.
Looking forward, Coach Abacan expects more from the team heading in to the final stretch of the season. “In terms of how they played, I’m happy. But they’re the champion team. We have to play extraordinary,” Abacan mentioned.
Both teams are set to face each other on Saturday, March 17, in the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center for the first game of the finals with UE holding the twice-to-beat advantage.
Team Tie Score
Ateneo 1 UE 4
1st Singles – AJ Lim (UE) def. Ino Canlas (Ateneo): 6-1, 6-1.
2nd Singles: Joshua Kinaadman (UE) def. AJ Rivero (Ateneo): 7(7)-6(5), 6-3.
3rd Singles: Rodolfo Barquin (UE) def. Marcen Gonzales (Ateneo): 6-4, 6-4.
1st Doubles: Luke Flores and Erj Gatdula (Ateneo) def. Veric Delos Santos and Justine Guira (UE): 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
2nd Doubles: Rogelio Estaño and RJ Saga (UE) def. Julian Dayrit and Bong Gonzales (Ateneo): 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
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