IF YOU were at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex Badminton Hall on the morning of September 10, you would have been treated to a pleasant surprise.
For the first time in public, veteran Blue Shuttler Paolo Sunga delivered a display of deviance few have ever seen before. After DLSU’s Gerald Sibayan failed to retrieve the shuttle, Sunga dropped his racket and did “the Dougie”—and for a good five seconds at that.
It was surprising, but it was exactly what everyone in blue felt like doing after the Atenean pair of Sunga and Pawee Natividad defeated Sibayan and Ivan Angsico, 13-21, 22-20, 21-19, in the second doubles match of the morning to forge an all-important winner-take-all match the next day.
Seeded 4th in this season’s edition of UAAP Badminton, the Blue Shuttlers need to beat their archrivals twice in order to make it to the finals.
With strong singles performances from Pawee Natividad and Philippine number-one Toby Gadi, the Katipunan-based squad led two matches to love early on.
Natividad dispatched DLSU’s Kenneth Monterubio, 19-21, 21-16, 21-10, in the first singles match of the morning. Though he committed a few bad judgment calls during the first game, Natividad mixed up his game in the second and third, ultimately frustrating Monterubio to commit error after error. With a vicious smash at the net, the Blue Shuttler gave Ateneo a 1-0 lead in the tie.
“Two-zero na,” said a reserve team member even before the second singles match began. Understandably so, up next was the nigh-undefeatable Toby Gadi, who was pitted against DLSU’s best in Ronel Estanislao. The match was routine and Gadi did what he does best, breezing past his opponent easily, 21-12, 21-11, to give Ateneo a 2-0 match lead.
For the first doubles match of the morning, Gadi and Estanislao were joined by teammates Justin Natividad for Ateneo and Mej Martinez for La Salle. The first game featured a contrast of team dynamics, as the Blue Shuttlers were hounded by errors due to miscommunication while the DLSU pair was clicking on all cylinders.
After dropping the first game, 13-21, Gadi and Natividad stepped it up in the second, playing more carefully to eventually give DLSU a taste of their own medicine, 21-14. Looking to win the tie outright, the Atenean duo eventually succumbed to nerves in the third game. They were close, but Estanislao and Martinez were more composed during the crucial points. DLSU squeaked to a 21-18 third game win to keep them alive.
Other than the first game, the competition during the second doubles match of the morning was as tight as could be. Fast forward to the late stages of the third game and with the score tied at 19-all, Lady Luck smiled down on the Katipunan side, as Natividad’s drop shot grazed the net cord and made its way to the DLSU side of the court untouched.
A couple of hard drives later, and the Ateneo pair watched as the shuttle landed right between Sibayan and Angsico at the middle of the court. With the 21-19 third game win, the entire gallery of blue shirts erupted in elation.
Ateneo has now defeated La Salle twice this season, and must do so one last time if they are to meet powerhouse National University in the finals. Their next game is at 9:00 AM on September 11 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex Badminton Hall.
