THE ATENEO Men’s and Women’s Table Tennis Teams continued their preparations for the new season with a dominant performance in the Philippine Table Tennis Federation’s (PTTF) first Huaching Inter-Collegiate Tournament. Out of 23 teams, the Blue Eagles emerged as the 1st runners-up, only being stopped by De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Paddlers in the finals. The matches were held from August 11 to 13 at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay in Parañaque City.

Men’s Table Tennis

The Men’s team was divided into two squads that competed in Group D and Group E respectively. Team 1 consisted of Team Captain Andrew Uy, Mahendra Kong Cabrido, and Wrency Abad while Team 2 was made up of Zherdel Fresco, Victor De Asis, and Rod Andree Garcia.

On day one, Team 2 swept the openers against the Far Eastern University (FEU) and the University of the East. Meanwhile, Team 1 continued their streak by defeating FEU again and Mapúa University. These wins allowed both teams to compete against the top eight schools the next day.

However, on day two, only Team 1 qualified for the semifinals bout against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tiger Paddlers, wherein Uy first powered over UST’s John Castro, 11-07, 11-07, 11-09. Cabrido then completed the sweep by fending off last year’s University Athletic Association of the Philippines season’s Rookie of the Year, Eljay Tormis, to ultimately help bring the Blue Eagles to the finals, 08-11, 11-09, 11-07, 12-10.

With eyes on the gold, the Blue Eagles faced DLSU on the last day of the competition. Despite valiant efforts, Cabrido was unable to escape La Salle’s Elijah Yamson in the first singles match, 12-14, 5-11, 10-12. Eager to prolong the tie and force a third game, Uy pushed Morison Torres into a back-and-forth five-set thriller. Torres however, claimed the final frame, denying Ateneo the gold medal, 14-12, 5-11, 11-8, 5-11, 9-11.

Women’s Table Tennis 

Over on the Women’s side, the Blue Eagles were divided into two teams: team 1 composed of Ann Gella Borbon, Pia Fabregar, and Jelaine Monteclaro played in Group B; while the duo of Kaela Deine Aguilar and Kath Bulaqueña started their journey in Group D.

On opening day, the two teams experienced different fates in their opening matches. Aguilar and Bulaqueña were first overpowered by FEU. Then, the duo was unable to escape the University of Perpetual Help System DALTA, ultimately preventing them from advancing to the following rounds. On the other hand, Team 1 successfully swept the Polytechnic University of the Philippines and Mapúa University, booking them a ticket to the semifinals on day 2.

Team 1 was pitted up against the UST Lady Paddlers, where Borbon opened with a win over UST’s Sherlyn Gabisay, 11-08, 09-11, 11-04, 11-09. UST were quick to respond as Monteclaro was defeated by Janna Paculba in four sets, 11-06, 07-11, 07-11, 08-11. With the series tied at one apiece, Fabregar took matters into her own hands and scored a convincing win over Corrine Cartera, 11-06, 11-05, 11-05, to steer the Blue and White into the tournament finale.

Facing off against a similar foe as the Men’s squad in the finals, the Blue Eagles went down a game early as Monteclaro was overpowered by DLSU’s Angel Laude in straight sets, 7-11, 5-11, 7-11. Despite fighting gallantly to force a deciding game, the second match saw four sets, with Borbon defeated by Shyrein Redoquiero, 8-11, 7-11, 11-3, 7-11, as the Blue Eagles settled on the silver medal for the tournament.