THE BLUE and White ended the first round of elimination games in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 82 Men’s Table Tennis Tournament with a defeat to the University of the East (UE) Red Warriors, 0-3, and opened the second round with another loss to the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons, 0-3, on Thursday, November 14, at the Ateneo De Manila University Blue Eagle Gym in Quezon City. These results sunk Ateneo to a 1-7 overall standing.
In the first team-tie, rookie Bruce Romualdez saw action for the first time this season as he faced off against UE veteran Sandro Cortez. Cortez cruised to a straight set win, 11-3, 11-6, 11-3. Team Captain Mark Parman matched up against his former high school teammate in UE’s Justin Pacana. Parman ran away with a 11-9 win in the opening set, but Pacana fought back to earn the second set, 11-7. The Red Warrior carried on the momentum to take the next two sets, 11-3, 11-9, giving his team a commanding 2-0 lead.
Sophomores Carlo Chua and Jamie De Asis aimed to get the Blue Eagles back on track against UE duo Jomari Ingeniero and Kevin Muriel. Ateneo displayed good chemistry and won the first set, 11-7, but the Red Warriors stormed back and racked up three sets, 15-13, 11-2, 11-8, to seal the team-tie.
The Blue Eagles were pitted against the Fighting Maroons to open the second round of matches. Rookie Deo Cuaresma suited up against UP’s Elijah Cagas in the First Singles match. Cuaresma was contained by his opponent and lost in straight sets, 4-11, 7-11, 1-11.
Parman attempted to equalize the team-tie score against UP’s Cj Victorio. Parman opened with an 11-9 win, but Victorio found his groove and controlled the next three sets, 11-8, 13-11, 11-7.
In the doubles encounter, Chua and De Asis faced off against Earl Ruelo and Judah Cagas. It was a tightly contested match all throughout as the two pairs engaged in a five-set thriller. The Maroons grabbed the first set, 13-11, but Chua and De Asis went on to bag the next two sets, 11-7, 12-10. The Ateneo pair was unable to close the match in the fourth set as Ruelo and Cagas escaped with a 11-9 win to stay alive. UP still came out on top in the deciding set, 11-8, to grab the team-tie win.
Tournament play resumes for the Blue Eagles with a duel against the National University (NU) Bulldogs at 8:00 AM on Saturday, November 16, in the Blue Eagle Gym, Quezon City.
Set scores (Ateneo-UE): Ateneo – 0 UE – 3
First Men’s Singles (Romualdez vs Cortez): 3-11, 6-11, 3-11
Second Men’s Singles (Parman vs Pacana): 11-9, 7-11, 3-11, 9-11
First Men’s Doubles (J. De Asis and Chua vs Ingeniero and Muriel): 11-7, 13-15, 2-11, 8-11
Set Scores (Ateneo-UP): Ateneo – 0 UP – 3
First Men’s Singles (Cuaresma vs Cagas): 4-11, 7- 11, 1-11
Second Men’s Singles (Parman vs Victorio): 11-9, 8-11, 11-13, 7-11
First Men’s Doubles (J. De Asis and Chua vs J. Cagas and Ruelo): 11-13, 11-7, 12-10, 9-11, 8-11
