STEAMROLLING THROUGH the competition, the Ateneo Men’s Table Tennis Team secured a 3-1 semifinals victory over the Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons. This win clinches the Blue Eagles a spot in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 86 Table Tennis Finals. The contest occurred earlier today at the Amoranto Sports Complex in Quezon City.
Starting off the match was Team Captain Andrew Uy, who went up against Jed Villaviray in a rematch of Uy’s first eliminator singles outing. The contest started out in the Atenean’s favor, as Uy secured a 7-4 lead. However, Villaviray bursted out into an 8-4 run to snatch the first game in his favor, 12-10. In stark contrast to his eliminator matchup with Villaviray, a comeback was not in sight as Uy conceded the next two games, 6-11 and 4-11, handing Adamson the first team-tie point.
Next up for the Blue and White was veteran Kong Cabrido, who stood opposite John Polido in today’s second singles contest. In an effort to pick up the Blue Eagles’ morale, Cabrido came out aggressively and took the first game, 11-4. The second game was a back-and-forth battle as both players traded the lead throughout. With slick maneuvers, Cabrido ultimately secured the 12-10 victory. However, looking to extend the match, Polido captured a close 11-9 victory in the third game. In the final game of the set, Cabrido survived Polido’s late comeback effort, 11-7, bringing Ateneo back in the team-tie score.
For today’s only doubles matchup, go-to Atenean duo Wrency Abad and France De Asis took on Jhon Balucos and Aldrean Gacho. Continuing the momentum Cabrido’s win provided, Abad and De Asis stormed through the first game, 11-6. Consequently, Balucos and Gacho quickly answered back with a tightly contested 11-9 win of their own to tie the set. Undeterred, Abad and De Asis utilized their timely attacks and great communication to take the next two games in dominant fashion, 11-2 and 11-3.
For the final matchup of the contest, rookie Andree Garcia faced Amiel Aroma. In the first game, Garcia survived multiple lengthy rallies to triumph, 11-9. Aroma however would not go down without a fight, as he came back with an 11-9 victory in the following game. The next two games mirrored the events of the opening two cantos with both players trading wins setting up a nail biting game five. In the deciding game, the cheers from the Ateneo bench would slowly turn to a deafening yell as Garcia blazed to a 7-1 run to ultimately win the match, 11-4, sending the Blue Eagles to their second straight UAAP Finals.
The Blue Eagles are set to face the three-time defending champions University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tiger Paddlers in a best-of-three series for the UAAP Season 86 Table Tennis championship. All matches in the series are scheduled to take place tomorrow, starting 9:00 AM, in the same venue.
