THE ATENEO blue shuttlers cruised to victory against the Adamson Soaring Falcons claiming all five matches, 5-0, while the lady shuttlers also managed to defeat their Adamson counterparts, 5-0, as well on Wednesday, September 28, 2016 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.

The team-tie wins put both the Blue Eagles and the Lady Eagles at a 4-2 win-loss record in the University of Athletics Association (UAAP).

Blue shuttlers continue their winning run

The first singles match saw Emilio Mangubat face off against Adamson’s Concha. Though Concha managed to keep pace with Mangubat going into the interval (11-10), the blue shuttler pushed to claim the first set with a final score of 21-13. Mangubat powered through the second set winning 21-14.

The second singles match featured Ateneo’s Clarence Filart and Adamson’s Delizo. The Blue and White showed his superiority from the start of the match, taking a large lead at the interval (11-4) and continuing to control the game and winning 21-7. The shuttler further pushed his boundaries with his second set score even better than his first (21-6). Ateneo led 2-0 in the team-tie after the singles matches.

Mangubat took to court once more along with teammate Hanz Bernardo in the first doubles of the team-tie. The duo was eager to claim the match-win to edge out Adamson early in the team-tie. Though the Blue Eagles found themselves down at the interval (8-11), they managed to pull-level and eventually claim the set after a dramatic set-point rally (21-14). The second set saw the tandem continue their latter-set dominance to claim another comfortable set-win at 21-14.

The second doubles match saw Carlo Remo and Patrick Gecosala team up once more to take on Concha and Antonio. Lagging behind by four points (0-4), the Blue and White duo slowly inched their way to equal footing (14-14) and climbing to a 19-17 lead. A series of unforced errors with one being Remo’s mistake at the net, handed Adamson the first set win of the team-tie. Determined to maintain Ateneo’s record, the shuttlers duo resolutely pushed to win the second set (21-15) and overturn a deuce in the third set to win 23-21. The Ateneo blue shuttlers were now four for four.

The last game of the day saw rookie Eagle Keoni Asuncion take on Soaring Falcon Antonio in a singles matchup. Asuncion dominated the first set with his baseline drop shots, winning it at 21-5 and claimed a second set at 21-11.

Lady shuttlers back on track after heartbreak defeat to DLSU

Following a 3-2 defeat to the De La Salle University, Team Captain Bianca Carlos took on Dela Cueva in the first singles match of the day. Though the initial stages of the set saw either of the two claim well-deserved winners, Carlos grew into the game eventually breaking a 6-4 score and winning 10 straight points from the interval (11-6) to take the set at 21-6. She continued her dominant display in the second set, running riot and taking it at 21-5.

Trixie Malibiran added to the team-tie score with her two-set win against Aquino where she saw off the Falcon with equally impressive set scores of 21-13 and 21-7.

The first doubles of the match featured Carlos and Chanelle Lunod who systematically took apart Aquino and Pala, claiming set scores of 21-18, 21-15 after a confident display by the duo.

The second doubles match featured Cassie Lim and Geva De Vera who took on Adamson’s San Pedro and Erwin. Though the first set saw two deuces that nearly gave Adamson the win in the set, Lim and De Vera fought hard to come a step closer to claiming the match-win. The second set spelled completely different story as the duo won with ease at 21-10.

The final match saw single’s expert Samantha Ramos take on Soaring Falcon Pada. Ramos initially had a difficult time to get past Pada with her drop shots, as the Adamson player continued to be at the right place and time to return. Ramos did well to pick herself up after a few unforced errors late in the set (17-17) and claim the win at 21-18. The second set saw Ramos face a similar problem, but the Lady Eagle fought hard (21-16) to complete a perfect record for the Lady Eagles in their team-tie, 5-0.

The blue and lady shuttlers will face the University of Santo Tomas at 8AM and 1PM respectively on Saturday, October 1 at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Manila.