THE ATENEO Men’s Badminton team managed to defeat the De La Salle University (DLSU) Green Archers for the second time this week, this time in the semifinals, on Wednesday, October 2, at the Centro Atletico Badminton Hall, Quezon City. Ateneo held a twice-to-beat advantage that they did not need to exercise, as they outlasted the Green Archers in four matches, winning with a 3-1 team-tie score that sent Ateneo to the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 82 Men’s Badminton Finals.
The first match saw rookie Arthur Salvado in his first semifinals bout against La Salle’s Andrew Pineda. Salvado opened up the first game leading most of the way, going up 11-7 at one point. Pineda had his opportunities for a comeback, but multiple errors on his part ensured that Salvado took the first game, 21-18. The second game was no less exciting, as the momentum swung back and forth until Salvado finally pulled away for the 21-15 lead, and the first team-tie victory for Ateneo.
The second match kicked off with a showdown between two captains: Ateneo Co-captain Keoni Asuncion and La Salle’s Emilio Mangubat. Mangubat held Asuncion at bay for most of the first game before preventing Asuncion’s comeback at the end, beating him 21-16. Asuncion answered back strong in the second game to force a third, earning the win, 21-17. In the third and final game between the two captains, both sides grinded it out, both refusing to go down, until Asuncion capped off the second match with a 21-19 victory in the third game, giving Ateneo the 2-0 team-tie lead.
Team Captain Fides Bagasbas and Jeno Cariño took to the court for a rematch with Christian Bernardo and Emilio Mangubat, the duo that defeated them in their previous match up. A victory in this match would secure Ateneo’s slot in the finals, as well as La Salle’s elimination from the tourney. The La Salle pairing managed to bag the tightly contested first game after a string of errors from Ateneo, as Bagasbas and Cariño fell 18-21. The Ateneo duo refused to give away the second game, as the veteran-rookie combo managed to get away with the 21-15 victory to bring out a third game. Unfortunately, Ateneo seemed to have run out of gas in the third, as more errors led to them succumbing to a 12-21 defeat.
Keoni Asuncion and Arthur Salvado returned to the court versus La Salle’s Andrew Pineda and Joshua Morada. Despite going down 6-11 at the break, Asuncion and Salvado rallied back to take the 19-17 lead. With only two points needed to win the game, they failed to close it out when La Salle scored four straight to take the win away as Ateneo fell 19-21. The two Blue Eagles came back strong in the second game, this time closing it out 21-13. Asuncion and Salvado finally put the game away with a 21-16 third game win, sending Ateneo to the finals.
The Ateneo Blue Eagles now face a rematch with the National University Bulldogs, as they look to get their revenge on the only team to defeat Ateneo this season. The best-of-three Finals between Ateneo and NU will begin on Friday, October, 8:00 AM, at the Centro Atletico Badminton Hall, Quezon City.
Team-Tie Scores:
1st Singles: Arthur Salvado (Ateneo) defeated Andrew Pineda (DLSU): 21-18, 21-15.
2nd Singles: Keoni Asuncion (Ateneo) defeated Emilio Mangubat (DLSU): 16-21, 21-17, 21-19
1st Doubles: Fides Bagasbas and Jeno Cariño (Ateneo) defeated by Christian Bernardo and Emilio Mangubat (DLSU): 18-21, 21-15, 12-21
2nd Doubles: Keoni Asuncion and Arthur Salvado (Ateneo) defeated Andrew Pineda and Joshua Morada (DLSU): 19-21, 21-13, 21-16
