THE ATENEO Men’s Badminton Team delivered another flawless performance, routing the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tiger Shuttlers in another sweep, 5-0, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88 Men’s Badminton Tournament. The battle took place earlier today, October 16, at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall in the City of Manila.
This win keeps the Blue Eagles atop the standings, sharing the honors with the National University (NU) Bulldogs.
For the first bout of the day, Ateneo Team Co-Captain Lance Vargas faced off against UST’s Lenox Cuilao. Straight out of the gates, the Ateneo sophomore found himself at a 0-2 hole in the opening set due to sluggish footwork. Vargas quickly found his footing, knocking off a 5-1 run that gained him his first lead of the morning, 5-3. From then on, the two shuttlers exchanged points until the interval, with Vargas eventually retaining the advantage, 11-8.
Vargas’s problems continued towards the latter half of the first frame, as unforced errors dwindled his advantage to a single point, 13-12. However, the Blue Eagle shuttler conducted an uninterrupted four-point barrage, widening his cushion, 17-12. Battling for every possession, it was the Tiger Shuttlers’ Cuilao who could not keep up with Vargas’s explosive rallies, eventually winning the first set for his unit, 21-16.
The following set saw Vargas surrender another disadvantage as he dropped to a 1-4 deficit. Clawing his way back in the frame, the Ateneo sophomore went back to his offensive expertise, stringing together commanding possessions, 8-9. Seeing his energy revitalized, Vargas exploded to another unanswered six-point sprint, extending his advantage to 14-9. Despite some mistimed errors, the Atenean shuttler remained composed to win Ateneo’s first team-tie score, 21-16.
The second singles match found Ateneo’s Robby Ramos taking on UST’s Juan Sison. In the first set, Ramos got straight to business, jumping out to a 6-2 start through powerful returns. However, the Blue Eagle shuttler’s offensive slump coincided with UST’s 3-0 run, cutting the lead to one, 6-5. Midway through the set, Ramos’s rhythm proved advantageous as this forced the Thomasian into multiple errors, 15-8. The Atenean veteran went on to put the finishing touches with two powerful smashes, winning the set at 21-10.
Both teams entered the second set with a similar start to the previous one, engaging in a back-and-forth battle which led to a 6-all deadlock. The stalemate continued for the rest of the interval, with neither side willing to give in as they traded serve after serve. As both sides slowed down due to fatigue, Ramos was able to break open the tie, gaining a three-point gap, 11-8. As the set progressed, the Loyola Heights-based athlete took advantage of Sison’s fatigue, leading him to fall flat on consecutive returns, 15-9. Ramos then began another exchange with the UST shuttler, eventually cutting Ateneo’s margin to four after missed opportunities, 19-15. Sensing his opponent’s urgency, Ramos sent quick rallies that proved to be too much for Sison, resulting in the set victory, 21-15, and Ateneo’s second team-tie score.
In Ateneo’s first doubles competition of the day, Team Captain Lyrden Laborte and JR Pandi outlasted their adversaries, UST’s Ron Galve and Bien Miraflor, in a 2-0 bout. With the chance to gain the team-tie victory, the Atenean duo immediately forged a 3-0 lead in the opening minutes of the first set. Despite UST hitting on a pair of rallies, the Blue Eagle duo worked the margins by sending unhittable rallies to extend their gap, 8-2. However, misplaced shots spelled trouble for the Blue Eagles, allowing the opposition to trim the advantage to two, 11-9.
To reclaim control, rookie Pandi led Ateneo to a 4-1 outburst that extended their advantage, 15-10. Afterwards, both teams engaged in a back-and-forth affair, with Laborte stabilizing the ship for the Blue Eagles as he ended the frame with a missile that neither of UST’s shuttlers could react to, 21-14.
Entering the second frame, the Atenean duo gained another 8-2 advantage that saw their masterful shot placement on display. This time, the Blue Eagles entered the half with a better margin, 11-6, as the Ateneo pair continuously denied the shuttle from touching the ground. Ateneo’s lead would be cut to as much as two, as the Blue Eagles struggled to get shots over the net, 13-11. However, a blue-blooded barrage ensued, with Ateneo widening the gap courtesy of Laborte and Pandi’s extreme athleticism. In the end, the Atenean pair ran away with the set, winning the Blue Eagles the overall team-tie score, 21-13.
The fourth match of the day saw Vargas team up with Pingkoy Salvado for Ateneo to battle the UST duo John Espinoza and Janzen Panisales. The start of the match saw UST go on a run to take the early lead and put Ateneo behind, 3-5. The Blue Eagles went on a strong counter run to take the lead for themselves, 11-9, midway through the set. This run continued all the way to the end of the set, where the duo from Katipunan ended the second half of the set strong with a 10-4 run to take the win, 21-13.
The second set began similarly to the first, with the UST duo jumping out to the early lead, downing Ateneo, 4-7. However, this time around, the duo from España was able to carry the lead into the halfway point of the set, putting Ateneo at an 8-11 hole. In response, the Blue Eagles were quick to turn the tables around, going on a 3-0 run after the short break to tie the game at 11. The Tiger Shuttlers were then unfazed by Ateneo’s mini-run, countering it with a powerful 10-5 run that saw the Blue Eagles fall, 16-21.
Determined to keep Ateneo’s clean slate for the day, the Blue Eagles began the set with a blazing 9-0 start. Moving closer to victory, the Ateneans never took their foot off the gas pedal and cruised to a dominant double-digit win, 21-11.
For the third singles and final match of the day overall, Laborte took on UST’s Ivan Tuazon. Laborte started out hot, taking a commanding 11-2 lead midway through the first set. Tuazon was able to keep up with the Atenean Captain in the latter part of the set, where they exchanged a 10-8 run to close out the set. The Blue Eagle’s hot start, though, proved to be enough of a cushion, still taking the set with a huge advantage, 21-10.
No one was really getting any separation to start the second set, with both players going blow-for-blow to exchange points and errors alike. A late surge by Tuazon gave him a slight edge and put Laborte at a 9-11 disadvantage as they reached the midway point of the set. The Atenean responded with a run of his own to take the lead, 16-13. Now with full control of the set, Laborte continued the same intensity to take the set and the match, 21-17, finishing off the sweep.
The Blue Eagles will look to battle it out in a Finals rematch from Season 87 against the NU Bulldogs on Saturday, October 18, at 8:00 AM in the same venue.
Team-tie Score:
Ateneo-UST: 5-0
Results:
First Singles: Vargas (Ateneo) def. Cuilao (UST), 21-16, 21-16
Second Singles: Ramos (Ateneo) def. Sison (UST), 21-10, 21-15
First Doubles: Pandi & Laborte (Ateneo) def. Galve & Miraflor (UST), 21-14, 21-13
Second Doubles: Salvado & Vargas (Ateneo) def. Espinoza & Panisales (UST), 21-13, 16-21, 21-11
Third Singles: Laborte (Ateneo) def. Tuazon (UST), 21-10, 21-17
Current Standings (W-L):
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (4-0)
- NU Bulldogs (4-0)
- UP Fighting Maroons (2-2)
- UST Tiger Shuttlers (1-3)
- AdU Soaring Falcons (1-3)
- DLSU Green Shuttlers (0-4)
