THE ATENEO Men’s Badminton Team charged to a successful rout of the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Shuttlers, 5-0, in their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 Men’s Badminton Tournament opener. The bout took place earlier today, October 11, at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall in the City of Manila.
This win places the Blue Eagles at the top of the standings, tied with the National University Bulldogs and University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons.
In the opening battle of Season 88, Blue Eagle Robby Ramos took on Green Shuttler James Capin. The first set action saw the two players exchanging points with powerful rallies, with the score coming to a deadlock at 6-all. From then on, Ramos sent his shots flying as he pushed his pace for a 5-1 run, 11-7. The Atenean then changed his approach, allowing his opponent to commit mistakes, making his lead balloon until the finish mark, 21-11.
The second set found Ramos at an unusual spot, falling behind 2-5 due to self-inflicted errors. Despite the setback, the Atenean shuttler fought his way back with intense rallies until the halfway point to regain the lead, 11-9. Similar to his first set success, Ramos went back to forcing mistakes against his DLSU counterpart, running away with the set, 21-12, and gaining Ateneo their first point.
Looking to further his squad’s advantage, Team Co-Captain Lyrden Laborte took the court against DLSU’s Miguel Cuarte. The first set saw an all-out slugfest with both players unwilling to give up the momentum, 17-15. Despite Laborte building a seemingly comfortable lead, 19-15, multiple Ateneo errors would cut the Blue Eagle’s cushion to just one, 19-18. Undeterred by the run, Laborte emerged victorious in a 30-second rally with a light tap to the opposing side, winning the set, 21-19.
In contrast to the previous set, the second saw Laborte mount a dominant performance, building an 11-5 early advantage. Despite this momentum, Laborte gave up an 8-5 run to Cuarte, shaving the Atenean’s lead to three, 16-13. In response, the skipper dashed to a 5-1 blitz of his own to seal the second match for the Blue Eagles, 21-14.
In the first doubles contest of the day, Ateneo’s Pingkoy Salvado and Co-Captain Lance Vargas faced DLSU’s Yuan Tan and Joshua Morada. The Blue Eagles kept up with DLSU’s rapid offense, fighting until the later minutes of the set. After the halfway point, Vargas and Salvado’s court experience managed to keep Ateneo ahead with a two-point lead, 15-13. However, the Atenean skippers came up short on returning their adversaries’ rallies, falling behind 16-17. The Katipunan duo, struggling to keep up, found their stride at the right time, which mustered a 5-1 sprint to win the first set, 21-18.
The second set saw Ateneo jump out to a sizable three-point gap by the end of the interval, 11-8. Similar to the previous set’s problems, the Ateneo shuttlers gave up a 1-7 run that put them behind, 12-15. Relying on their teamwork and offensive potency, the Blue Eagles smashed their way back into the game in the latter half, 19-19. With a perfect outing on the line, Vargas and Salvado escaped with Ateneo’s third victory after the Blue and White sent a rocket toward DLSU’s side that ended the set, 22-20.
Searching for their fourth straight match point, Ateneo sent the duo of Ramos and Laborte to oppose DLSU’s Cuarte and Zaki Layno. The Blue Eagle duo immediately showcased their great chemistry, bursting to an 11-4 start capped off by a long-range shot from Laborte and a DLSU attack error. Stepping on the gas pedal, the Blue Eagles outscored their opponents 10-8, bringing the first set to an end, 21-12.
This upward trajectory would remain true throughout the second set as the Blue and White concluded with a 21-14 victory, bringing their match lead to 4-0.
Rounding out his unit’s perfect day was Vargas who stood opposite Green Shuttler Lovic Javier for the final match. Fatigue seemed to creep in for Captain Vargas as he fell to a 9-11 hole at the start of the first set. Not backing down, the Katipunan-based shuttler took control, stringing together four consecutive points, 13-11. The set then turned to another back-and-forth affair with no player building a lead higher than four. Riding on his momentum, it was Vargas who took the frame after a backhand maneuver, 21-18.
Shortly after this pivotal win, Vargas followed it up with a convincing second set victory, 21-15, bagging Ateneo its first match win of UAAP Season 88.
The Blue Eagles will look to build a winning streak as they face the UP Fighting Maroons tomorrow, October 12, at 8:00 AM in the same venue.
Team-tie Score:
Ateneo-DLSU: 5-0
Results:
First Singles: Ramos (Ateneo) def. Capin (DLSU), 21-11, 21-12
Second Singles: Laborte (Ateneo) def. Cuarte (DLSU), 21-19, 21-14
First Doubles: Salvado & Vargas (Ateneo) def. Tan & Morada (DLSU), 21-18, 22-20
Second Doubles: Ramos & Laborte (Ateneo) def. Cuarte & Layno (DLSU), 21-12, 21-14
Third Singles: Vargas (Ateneo) def. Javier (DLSU), 21-18, 21-15
Current Standings (W-L):
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (1-0)
- UP Fighting Maroons (1-0)
- NU Bulldogs (1-0)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (0-1)
- UST Tiger Shuttlers (0-1)
- DLSU Green Shuttlers (0-1)
