TODAY’S PERFORMANCE marked the end of the Blue Eagles’ electrifying season as they conceded the championship to the National University (NU) Bulldogs, 1-3, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 81 Men’s Lawn Tennis Finals on Sunday, April 13 at the Colegio San Agustin-Bulacan Tennis Stadium in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.
Gab Tiamson opened the proceedings against Wilson Oblea of NU in the crcucial first singles match. The rookie battled out a tight first set, 6-7, yet was able to salvage the loss with an impressive second set win, 6-3. The turning point came in the decider as the Blue Eagle was outlasted by his NU counterpart, closing the match in the Bulldogs’ favor, 6(5)-7.
Luke Flores and Erj Gatdula faced NU’s Rucel Cero and AJ Alejandre for the men’s first doubles match. The duo braved through the first set with an impressive 6-2 victory. However, the second round was more competitive as the Blue Eagles fell by a narrow deficit, 6-7. In a similar turn of events in the third set, the pair was eventually bested by their NU counterparts in the decider, awarding the Bulldogs their second tie of the day, 6(6)-7.
[1st Doubles]
Game, set, and match. Flores and Gatdula drop the first match, 6-2, 6-7, 6(6)-7(8).
Team-tie score: Ateneo 0 NU 1#UAAPTennis pic.twitter.com/qpE1k1e7Fi
— Gio P. Guinto (@Gio_TheGUIDON) April 13, 2019
In a rematch of Tuesday’s tie, Blue Eagle Team Captain Marcen Gonzales took on Allen Manlangit. Both players exchanged the first two sets, 6-3, 1-6, to set up another close finish. Gonzales recovered from a 1-3 deficit to take a 4-3 lead in the deciding set. Despite a 5-5 deadlock down the stretch, a timely service break ultimately awarded Gonzales the match, 7-5, giving Ateneo a lifeline in the tie, 1-2.
[2nd Singles]
Game, set, and match! Gonzales def. Manlangit 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 to give Ateneo it’s team-tie point.
Team-tie score: Ateneo 1 NU 2#UAAPTennis pic.twitter.com/KGAkQpr0RC
— Gio P. Guinto (@Gio_TheGUIDON) April 13, 2019
The final match of the day saw veterans Julian Dayrit and Bong Gonzales take the court for the men’s second doubles match. Despite having shown exemplary rhythm and coordination in the past, the tandem was no match for Jeric Accion and Justine Prulla’s dominating performance. As early as the first set, the Blue and White failed to keep up with the NU duo’s tempo and was silenced by a 3-6 loss. They were eventually taken down in the second set, 1-6, after falling into a 0-4 hole which concluded Ateneo’s UAAP Season 81 campaign in a downer.
[2nd Doubles]
Game, set, and match. Accion and Prulla (NU) def. Dayrit and Gonzales, 6-3, 6-1 to finish off today’s series of matches.
Team-tie score: Ateneo 1 NU 3 #UAAPTennis pic.twitter.com/tovje1h6nE
— Gio P. Guinto (@Gio_TheGUIDON) April 13, 2019
With the defeat, the Blue Eagles narrowly miss out on the UAAP crown and settle for their second-consecutive first-runners up finish in the tourney.
Team-tie score: Ateneo 1 NU 3
Box scores:
First singles: Oblea def. Tiamson (Ateneo), 6-7, 6-3, 6(5)-7
First doubles: Cero and Alejandre def. Gatdula and Flores (Ateneo), 6-2, 6-7, 6(6)-7
Second singles: M. Gonzales (Ateneo) def. Manlangit, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5
Second doubles: Accion and Prulla def. Dayrit and B. Gonzales (Ateneo), 3-6, 1-6
Photo by Coco Ledesma
