THE ATENEO Blue Eagles achieved a 3-1 win-loss record on Day 1 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 85 Table Tennis Tournament yesterday at the Makati Coliseum.
Mahendra Cabrido clashed with Adamson University’s Jed Villaviray to kick off the Blue and White’s first team tie match-up. The national team member was off to a strong start as he claimed two straight sets against Villaviray, 11-9, 11-8. However, the Adamson player flipped the script to take three consecutive sets, 2-3, to hand the Soaring Falcons their first team-tie point.
[First Singles]
— Juno Reyes (@Juno_TheGUIDON) November 20, 2022
The fifth set’s short rally ends with Adamson taking the first team tie point as Cabrido commits a return error.
Match Score: Ateneo 2 AdU 3
Team Tie Score: Ateneo 0 AdU 1#UAAPTableTennis@TheGUIDONSports pic.twitter.com/1b8IgwMgev
In the second singles game, Andrew Uy swept all three sets versus Niko Pineda, 11-4, 11-4, 11-6, giving the Ateneo its first team-tie point against Adamson, 1-1. Meanwhile, upon bouncing back from a handful of returns and reception errors in the second set, the duo of Sean Uy and Zherdel Fresco increased the Blue Eagles’ team-tie points to two after winning three sets against Amiel Aroma and John Michael Lagorra, 3-1.
Team Captain Mark Parman then secured the Ateneo’s team tie over Adamson upon surviving a four-set match against Polido, 3-1.
[Third Singles]
— Juno Reyes (@Juno_TheGUIDON) November 20, 2022
Despite getting off to a slow start with Polido leading by 3 points, Parman quickly bounced back to card the fourth set, 9-11. Parman’s win seals the Ateneo’s victory against Adamson for this round!
Match Score: Ateneo 3 AdU 1
Team Tie Score: Ateneo 3 AdU 1 pic.twitter.com/FNrs8jB1Ii
Come the Blue Eagles’ face-off against the Far Eastern University (FEU), Cabrido’s straight-set heroics versus Marial Jumuad, 3-0, yielded the Ateneo’s first team-tie point.
Blue Eagle Wrency Abad also boasted impressive returns to defeat FEU’s Darwin Yunson, 3-0, elevating Ateneo to match point.
The Katipunan-based squad began to lose its momentum in the first doubles game, played by S. Uy and Arman Castillo. Although S. Uy and Castillo caught up to the Tamaraw duo of Peter Cubio and Ken Oblena after dropping the first two sets, their efforts could not prevent FEU from ultimately winning the match and notching the team tie point, 1-3.
A. Uy compensated for this loss by defeating FEU’s Drazevik Angcos, carding the Blue and White’s 3-1 team-tie victory over the Tamaraws.
[Third Singles]
— Juno Reyes (@Juno_TheGUIDON) November 20, 2022
As A. Uy wins the third set, 11-3, the Blue and White is awarded another team tie point and thus wins the match against FEU!
Match Score: Ateneo 3 FEU 1
Team Tie Score: Ateneo 3 FEU 1#UAAPTableTennis @TheGUIDONSports pic.twitter.com/X0wCPCNFT0
However, the Blue Eagles’ team-tie win streak was disrupted by the defending champions University of Santo Tomas (UST). The Tiger Paddlers’ Ruiz Marcelino defeated A. Uy in three straight sets, 4-11, 8-11, 8-11, to easily earn UST’s first team-tie point.
[First Singles]
— Juno Reyes (@Juno_TheGUIDON) November 20, 2022
Marcelino demolishes A. Uy in three straight sets. 8-11. This gives UST its first team tie point against the Ateneo.
Match Score: Ateneo 0 UST 3
Team Tie Score: Ateneo 0 UST 1 #UAAPTableTennis @TheGUIDONSports pic.twitter.com/TQ5VSAW4pk
Although Cabrido bagged a team-tie point for the Blue Eagles in the second singles match against UST’s Eljey Dan Tormis, S. Uy and Fresco failed to escape from Prince Garcia and Al J Sanchez in the first doubles game, 0-3. Abad also lost three consecutive sets at the hands of Sevilla, declaring UST the winners of the team tie-bout.
Despite the losses to the reigning champs, the Blue Eagles ended their season opener on a high note as they flawlessly cruised past the University of the East (UE) to clinch the team tie, 3-0. The beatdown’s starter A. Uy demolished UE’s Runmar Quipanes, 3-0, in the first singles duel, which was followed by a similar clean sweep by Cabrido against Kurt Villarico, 3-0. The team-tie win was sealed by the duo of Fresco and veteran Jamie de Asis, who crushed the Red Warriors’ Laridje Legaspi and Kevin Muriel, 3-0.
[First Doubles]
— Juno Reyes (@Juno_TheGUIDON) November 20, 2022
de Asis and Fresco take the third set, 11-8, to declare the Ateneo the winners in their matchup against UE!
Match Score: Ateneo 3 UE 0
Team Tie Score: Ateneo 3 UE 0#UAAPTableTennis@TheGUIDONSports pic.twitter.com/By9Q7PuTFI
Ateneo’s next round of games will be against the University of the Philippines on Monday, November 21, at 10:30 AM at the Makati Coliseum.
