LAST YEAR’S UAAP finalists University of the Philippines (UP) came out victorious against the Ateneo Blue Shuttlers, 2-3, on Thursday, October 4, at the Rizal Memorial Stadium Badminton Hall.
Team Captain Carlo Remo took to the court for the day’s first match against UP’s JM Bernardo. Bernardo kept Remo at bay in the first set, running up a sizable lead early on and eventually winning, 16-21. Remo then attempted a comeback in the second set, unleashing an eight-point spurt to put him within earshot of the lead. Bernardo, however, held his composure to close out the match, 18-21, and draw first blood against Ateneo.
Fides Bagasbas donned the Blue and White for the second set against CK Clemente. Bagasbas started the match strong as he wound up with a rout in the first set. Clemente, however, showed his experience by keeping his composure and taking the two subsequent sets to snatch the second match win of the Maroons. The match ended 21-12, 19-21, 17-21, in favor of the Maroons.
The Blue Shuttlers claimed their first match victory of the day, care of Keoni Asuncion and Remo. They handled UP counterparts Bernardo and Vinci Manuel in the first set, 21-15, through their sound teamwork. Bernardo and Manuel showed their resilience by storming back and forcing a third set, 18-21, after being down early in the second set. In the deciding set, Asuncion and Remo kept their cool as UP tied the game at 20-all after being down by five. The Blue and White duo scored the set’s final two points to seal the match victory, 22-20.
Ateneo stalwarts Bagasbas and Sean Chan geared up for the second doubles match to keep the momentum going for Ateneo, but failed to pull off a victory against UP duo Betong Pineda and Harvey Tungul. A tight first set ended 20-22 in favor of UP, with Chan and Bagasbas showing good hustle and aggression on the court. An error-filled second half for the Blue Shuttlers allowed Pineda and Tungul to run away with the lead, ending the set at 14-21 to erase all hopes of an Ateneo team-tie comeback.
Keoni Asuncion ended the day’s campaign on a good note, salvaging a win against UP’s Kevin Legaspi in the last singles match. Asuncion overcame Legaspi’s hot start in the first set with a win, 21-15. In the second set, Asuncion went on long scoring streaks via smart kills at the net to top Legaspi, 21-18, and end the day with a convincing win to ease Ateneo’s team-tie defeat.
This loss puts the Blue Shuttlers at a 3-2 team-tie record, tied at third place with De La Salle University (DLSU). Their next team-tie will be against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) (1-4) on Saturday, October 6, at the same venue.
Team-tie score: Ateneo 2 UP 3
Set Scores:
1st Singles: JM Bernardo def. Carlo Remo, 16-21, 18-21
2nd Singles: CK Clemente def. Fides Bagasbas, 21-12, 19-21, 17-21
1st Doubles: Keoni Asuncion & Carlo Remo def. JM Bernardo & Vinci Manuel, 21-15, 18-21, 22-20
2nd Doubles: Betong Pineda & Harvey Tungul def. Fides Bagasbas & Sean Chan, 20-22, 14-21
3rd Singles: Keoni Asuncion def. Kevin Legaspi, 21-15, 21-18
