THE ATENEO Men’s Badminton Team kicked off their campaign in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 Men’s Badminton Tournament with a 4-1 victory over the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers.
The first day of the tournament was held at the Centro Atletico Badminton Hall, Quezon City, earlier today. A strong showing from a mix of veterans and new recruits puts the Blue Eagles at a 1-0 win-loss record.
Team Captain Arthur Salvado Jr. took to the court to face UST’s Kyle Basilio in the first men’s singles and claimed the squad’s first win in straight sets. The veteran made easy work of his opponent in the first set, winning at 21-13. Despite a back-and-forth contest in the second set, Salvado scored eight straight points and managed to pull away to take the set at 21-16.
The second men’s singles matchup saw rookie Lyrden Laborte go up against UST’s Hardun Sarmiento. The Growling Tigers launched an early lead, but Laborte quickly recovered and pulled away for a 21-8 win in the first set. Multiple errors on Sarmiento’s end allowed Laborte to take advantage and handily take the second set at 21-9.
Justine Vanzuela and rookie Charles Bagasbas were featured in the first men’s double’s match of the day against UST’s RJ Galve and JJ Panisales, with the overall victory at stake. After a series of counters from both teams, Galve and Panisales’ lead ballooned to 11-18. Despite Ateneo’s Vanzuela and Bagasbas trimming the deficit to four, the UST tandem would hold on to win the first set at 21-16. In the second set, the Katipunan-based duo was unable to halt their opponent’s scoring runs, giving up five straight points to UST towards the end of the match and bowing out at 15-21.
Salvado and Laborte then returned to the court to face Aaron Sarmiento and Lanz Ramirez in the second men’s doubles. With a flurry of smashes and scoring rallies, the Blue Eagles held UST to a 21-12 scoreline to take the first set. Despite trailing early into the second set, the Ateneo tandem quickly recovered to tie the match at 9-9. After two more ties at 12-12 and 17-17, Salvado and Laborte escaped a heated second set at 21-17 to secure the overall victory for the Blue Eagles.
For the last match of the day, Bryan Bernardo took on Lennox Culiao in the third men’s singles match. Multiple faults from the Blue and White allowed UST to take a 21-13 win in the first set. Ateneo’s Bernardo then jumped to an early 4-0 lead in the second set and never looked back, handily winning at 21-12. Despite two early faults in the third set, Bernardo pulled away and scored a 21-13 victory, claiming the squad’s fourth win.
The Blue Eagles look to build on their momentum in their next matchup against De La Salle University on Sunday, October 30.
Team-Tie score: Ateneo-UST: 4-1
First Men’s Singles: Salvado def. Basilio: 21-13, 21-16
Second Men’s Singles: Laborte def. H. Sarmiento: 21-8, 21-9
First Men’s Doubles: Galve and Panisales def. Bagasbas and Vanzuela: 16-21, 15-21
Second Men’s Doubles: Salvado and Laborte def. A. Sarmiento and Ramirez: 21-12, 21,17
Third Men’s Singles: Bernardo def. Culiao: 13-21, 21-12, 21-13
