THE ATENEO Women’s Badminton team stayed on a flawless path, overwhelming the Adamson University (AdU) Lady Falcons, 5-0, in their third game in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 88. The match took place earlier today, October 15, at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall in the City of Manila.
This win keeps Ateneo on top of the tournament with a spotless 3-0 win-loss record.
Starting the women’s tournament was Ateneo Team Captain Mika de Guzman, who took on Adamson’s Key Fuerte for the day’s first singles match. Due to consecutive errors on her opponent’s end, De Guzman managed to gain a comfortable lead, 7-0. Shortly after, the Atenean standout’s smash went long, handing Adamson their first point, 7-1. De Guzman promptly made adjustments by using tactical placements to her advantage, resulting in a 14-4 lead. With Lady Falcon Fuerte unable to catch up, Ateneo’s shuttler took the opening set with an assertive 21-5 output.
The tempo of the match slowed down at the start of the second frame, as the two players exchanged points with backhand shots, 4-4. Eager to reclaim her commanding position, De Guzman demonstrated perfect court awareness, finding holes in the opposition’s court to gain a sizable 11-4 advantage. However, several of the Blue Eagle’s speedy shots went wide, allowing Fuerte to catch up, 7-15. Still, AdU’s shuttler fell victim to her own faults, letting De Guzman to unceasingly wrap up the opening singles match at 21-8.
To follow the dominant showing of De Guzman, Ateneo Co-Captain Jochelle Alvarez and Adamson’s Abbygail Barcelona squared off in the second singles match of the day. The first set began with a back-and-forth affair between the two competitors, as Alvarez capitalized on her opponent’s miscues, 7-4. Eventually getting her stride, Alvarez was able to quickly outplay her opponent to gain an 11-6 advantage midway through the set. The second half of the first set continued to be a slugfest with both players exchanging points and errors. Eventually, Barcelona was able to cut the lead down to a single point via a run of her own, along with some miscues by Alvarez, 18-17. In the end, the Blue Eagle’s early cushion proved to be crucial as Alvarez took the highly-contested set, 21-18.
Similar to the first set played by Alvarez, the second set also began with both players exchanging long rallies, knotting things up at 7-all. However, a late surge by Barcelona put Alvarez at an 8-11 hole as they headed into the mid-way break. With all momentum on the side of the Falcons, Alvarez was unable to replicate her magic in the first set, falling 13-21 to even up the match at one set apiece.
Determined to bounce back from her second set performance, Alvarez started off the third set aggressively with a massive 10-1 burst. The rest of the set was no different, as Alvarez maintained the same intensity, executing an 11-8 run to win the set and the match, 21-9.
Still set on imposing their will, the duo of De Guzman and Althea Princess Hernandez took on Lady Falcons Keanna Casaje and Patricia Flora in the first doubles game. Ateneo’s seasoned captain went full throttle right from the first whistle to earn a slim 5-4 advantage. In an attempt to stretch the Blue Eagles’ leg, Hernandez converted consecutive markers at 12-8. However, due to De Guzman’s long shot, the game remained close, 15-13. While the two teams raced for survival, the Katipunan-based duo outlasted Adamson with their endurance, sealing the set at 21-17.
Regardless of their first-set advantage, the second frame kicked off with a slow fight for control as both teams kept on leveling the score, reaching 2-2. Despite standing at a perilous position, the Blue Eagles’ wide shots further added tension with the cushion cutting down to one, 5-4. Bouncing back, the Blue Eagles capitalized on speedy executions and sharp placements, eventually winding up at 13-8. Despite a number of errors, the squad from Katipunan managed to keep a wide margin, closing the match 21-15 to earn Ateneo’s third team point of the day.
Entering the second doubles match, Alvarez teamed up with freshman Daena Castro to face off against the Falcons duo of Graziel Cabriga and Rhealyn Pedron. The Ateneans opened up the scoring in the first set, taking the early lead, 6-4. Adamson then rallied to take the lead for themselves, 8-9, yet were quickly responded to by the Blue Eagles, 13-10. The Falcons again clawed their way back up the set at 15 apiece, but the Ateneo duo went on a 6-3 run, capped by a powerful smash by rookie Castro to take the set, 21-18.
Both teams started out the second set strong with a seesaw battle resulting in a 3-all deadlock. With momentum from their first set win, the Ateneo duo was able to gain some separation to take an 11-6 lead midway through the set. Regaining their confidence, the Blue Eagles ran away with the set, winning it by double digits, 21-11.
Determined to conclude the last game with a flawless run, Althea Ocampo went head-to-head with AdU’s Khylle Agura. At the opening frame, Ocampo operated a 5-1 cushion early on to take control of the game’s pacing. However, the Atenean netter could not contain Lady Falcon Agura, allowing her to inch closer at 10-6. To regain footing, Ocampo showcased overpowering smashes, leading to an 11-1 run to secure the first set, 21-7.
The second set saw both oppositions rallying for an upper hand at 3-all. With a relentless drive, Ocampo stayed neck-and-neck until the 7-7 stalemate. Wanting to snatch back the lead, the Blue Eagle shuttler made her presence known with high-powered shots at 15-9. With the end well within Katipunan’s sights, Ocampo remained unfazed despite errors, eventually closing the bout at 21-14.
The Blue Eagles aim to add more to the win column as they battle against the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Lady Shuttlers tomorrow, October 16, at 1:00 PM in the same venue.
Team-tie Score:
Ateneo-AdU: 5-0
Results:
First Singles: De Guzman (Ateneo) Fuerte (AdU), 21-5, 21-8
Second Singles: Alvarez (Ateneo) def. Barcelona (AdU), 21-18, 13-21, 21-9
First Doubles: De Guzman & Hernandez (Ateneo) def. Casaje & Flora (AdU), 21-17, 21-14
Second Doubles: Alvarez & Castro (Ateneo) def. Cabriga & Pedron (AdU), 21-18, 21-11
Third Singles: Ocampo (Ateneo) def. Agura (NU), 21-7, 21-14
Current Standings (W-L):
- ATENEO Blue Eagles (3-0)
- UP Fighting Maroons (3-0)
- NU Lady Bulldogs (2-1)
- AdU Lady Falcons (1-2)
- UST Lady Shuttlers (0-3)
- DLSU Lady Shuttlers (0-3)
