Photo by Jason Mariano

Photo by Jason Mariano

AFTER FIVE long years of waiting, the Ateneo Women’s Badminton Team reached the collegiate summit once again, taking the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Women’s Badminton trophy back to Loyola Heights.

Heading into the 81st season of the UAAP, the Ateneo lady shuttlers had humble expectations for themselves. At the close of Season 80, the team bid farewell to three key veterans and former team captains in Bianca Carlos, Cassie Lim, and Trixie Malibiran, which left the team bare-bones with only six members on the roster.

The burden of being a rebuilding team, however, seemingly added more fuel to the fire for the team to reach their full potential, especially during trainings. Team Captain Samantha Ramos shared that the girls trained doubly as hard knowing they had lost key players. “We really trained as a team, not just for ourselves lang where we wanted to win our [individual] events. It was more of a team thing na we trained with each other to help each other to improve,” she said.

This drive and extra work showed on the court as the Lady Eagles made a statement debut with a 5-0 team-tie demolition of the University of the East (UE) Lady Warriors.

Their second team-tie match against archrivals and defending champions, the De La Salle University (DLSU) Lady Archers, proved to be a turning point in their season. With the team-tie score at 2-2 heading into the third and final singles match, Geva De Vera entered the court with an inspired and determined spirit. After dropping the first set, she cruised to victory, and took the win home for the Blue and White.

With the team reinvigorated by their victory over DLSU, they approached the remainder of the season with more confidence and poise.

Ramos shared that the game gave the whole team the belief that they could go on to achieve anything they set their minds to this season. “I think that day really set the tone for us [that] we can do something, we can actually win games and upset teams. After that game with La Salle, […] our mindsets were stronger. That La Salle game really boosted us, gave us confidence,” she reflects.

The next two matches played out similarly to their debut as they made light work of the Adamson Lady Falcons, 4-1, and the University of Santo Tomas Golden Tigresses, 5-0, to keep their unblemished record atop the standings. However, their toughest matchups were yet to come.

The Ateneo lady shuttlers were set to face their fiercest rivals in the University of the Philippines (UP) Lady Maroons and the National University (NU) Lady Bulldogs for their last matches in the elimination round. Despite playing their hearts out, the Lady Eagles first fell to UP, 2-3, and then to NU with the same scoreline to seed them in third place going into the Final Four showdown.

Despite falling to the Lady Bulldogs in the elimination round and facing the uphill task of a twice-to-beat disadvantage, the Lady Eagles played without fear in the semi-finals. A 3-1 victory on the first day set up a do-or-die match against NU to be played out the following day. Despite having no time to rest an already thin squad, the Blue and White squad fought and overcame NU in a nailbiter 3-2 victory with Ramos coming up clutch to seal the win in the third singles match.

Facing UP–the team that had beaten them in the finals thrice in a row–was always going to be their biggest test. Without their three key veterans and up against a full-power Lady Maroons team, Ateneo rolled up their sleeves and went to work. A majestic performance in the first match saw them narrowly edge UP, 3-2, to take the advantage. Brimming with confidence, the Lady Eagles steamrolled UP in the second finals match, 3-0, to regain the crown.

Awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) alongside teammate De Vera, Chanelle Lunod remarked that feeling like underdogs worked to the team’s advantage. “Coming into this season, we weren’t expecting much, [and] our mindset was just to focus [on proving] other teams wrong,” she said.

As for the coaches, the sibling duo of Head Coach Kennie Asuncion-Robles and Kennevic Asuncion, they were ultimately motivated by the fact there were no expectations. Coach Kennie shared that she loved breaking records because she was raised with the passion to exceed expectations.

“I guess that’s how my brother and I would coach the team. We would always be up for any challenge. The harder the challenge, the more fulfilling it feels when you actually do it,” shares Coach Kennie. “It gave the team the opportunity to showcase what they got,” added Coach Kennevic.

Reflecting on the smaller squad size, Ramos credited their success to the improved team chemistry as the Lady Eagles were able to focus on building trust and camaraderie. “We really cared for each other’s improvement, strengths, and weaknesses… We were very open to each other and very frank [with each other, but] we didn’t take that [on] a personal level, so I think that also helped us improve as a team. [It helped us] create that bond and that teamwork that was very essential in our UAAP.”  

With a title under their belts and no foreseeable departures, the Lady Eagles are looking unstoppable heading into Season 82. When asked about how the targets on their backs will affect their mentality and preparation, Lunod was optimistic and said that they should instead look at it in a positive light.

“Because we’ve won this year, most of us, if not everyone who played last season will have the confidence. And then there are more players coming in and one of them actually is training with us and she’s the top of her batch. So we’re confident next season but of course, we want to stay humble, still prepare or work hard, the same as last year,” the Season 81 MVP stated.

As for Coach Kennie, she exclaimed that their academics will take the front seat during this off-season to allow them a short break. For the meantime, she did not want to look too far ahead.