IN GLORIOUS fashion, the Ateneo Men’s Badminton Team (AMBT) cruised past the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tiger Shuttlers, 5-0, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 86 Badminton Tournament. The lopsided match-up was held earlier this morning at the Centro Atletico Badminton Center in Quezon City.
With a domineering performance over UST, the Loyola Heights-based unit secured back-to-back wins, bolstering their record to a 3-1 win-loss standing.
In the first men’s singles, smash specialist Lyrden Laborte secured a 2-0 set victory against Tiger Shuttler Ivan Tuazon. The AMBT veteran displayed a towering presence in the opening set, smashing in rear-court drives to force faults on the España side, 10-5. As the Tiger Shuttler continued his struggles, Laborte pounced on the errors to seal the first set point, 21-9. With a 4-0 lead in the beginning of the second, the Blue Eagle’s relentless hits closed the game 21-6.
Marching on to the second men’s singles, Atenean rookie Lance Vargas dominated Tiger Shuttler Lennox Cuilao to seize the second team-tie win for the Blue and White. With a knack for pummeling in a barrage of high-powered shots, the rookie blew past two-set matches with a score of 21-15 in both sets.
Keeping on with their triumphant performance, Team Captain Arthur Salvado and Lyrden Laborte overwhelmed UST’s Sean Dela Cruz and John Dizon in the first men’s doubles, 0-2. With the Atenean dyad displaying an amalgamation of powering net kills and smashes, the Blue Eagles scored the first set, 21-10. However, the UST tandem remained undettered, as they put up 15 points against Ateneo’s 16 in the following set. Nonetheless, a breakthrough run from Ateneo sealed the match, 21-18, to notch the third team-tie win.
Up next was the second men’s doubles where Charles Bagasbas and Lance Vargas suited up to take on UST’s Lennox Matthew Cuilao and Janzen Panisales. In the early parts of the first set, the Growling Tigers would get the jump on Ateneo due to multiple errors from the Katipunan-based squadron, with the score at 5-11 halfway through the first set. While they would embark on a small run to close the gap on the Growling Tigers, their efforts would fall short, losing 21-19 in the first set. However, Ateneo never looked back, outlasting UST in the second set with a score of 21-16, and ultimately sealing the deal in the third set, 21-14.
The last match saw Salvado take on UST’s Sean Dela Cruz. The early stages of the first set remained tight, but Salvado would slowly pull away in the latter stages of the set, winning 21-15 in the first set. In the second set, both players went back and forth, with neither of them extending a lead above two points by the halfway point of the second set. When play resumed, Salvado’s fate looked bleak as he found himself down six points, 14-20. This deficit did not deter him, mounting a stunning rally against Dela Cruz to take the second set 22-20, eventually completing the 5-0 masterclass for the Men’s team.
Ateneo Head Coach Kennie Asuncion-Robles’ line-up hopes to extend their winning ways as they face UAAP Season 85 champions National University (NU) Bulldogs on Wednesday, November 8, in the same venue.
Current Standings (W-L)
- NU Bulldogs (4-0)
- UP Fighting Maroons (3-1)
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (3-1)
- UST Tiger Shuttlers (1-3)
- DLSU Green Shuttlers (1-3)
- ADU Soaring Falcons (0-4)
