THE ATENEO Blue Eagles showed mixed results in the first day of the Philippine Badminton Association-Smash Intercollegiate (PBAD) preseason tournament held earlier today at the Power Up Centro Atletico Sports Complex in Quezon City.
The PBAD Intercollegiate Tournament is Ateneo’s first competition since the onset of the pandemic. The Blue and White are now a team composed of fresh faces and returning veterans. The two-day tournament features Men’s and Women’s Singles, Men’s and Women’s Doubles, and Mixed Doubles in a single-round robin format.
The Ateneo Badminton Team had a tough first outing in a wire-to-wire 0-5 loss against the determined University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons. The Blue Eagles quickly recuperated by dispatching the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers, 4-1, with its sole dropped tie in the Mixed Doubles category.
Lynden Laborte opened up the action for the Blue Eagles versus Kervin Llanes in a Men’s Singles contest that saw the Fighting Maroon rookie cruise to a comfortable win. Afterwards, Ateneo suffered a massive blow in its Women’s Singles match when two-time Most Valuable Player Chanelle Lunod was stunned by UP newcomer Anthea Gonzales in a hotly-contested duel.
The Blue and White remained unvictorious losing to UP in two sets, as Jacinto Maliwat and Arthur Salvado were outplayed by their adversaries in the Men’s Doubles affair. In the Women’s Doubles, Jochelle Alvarez and Missy Cervantes put together an applaudable effort but dropped two straight sets en route to a fourth team defeat. The Blue Eagles’ Mixed Doubles in Bryan Bernardo and Maxene Olango were unsuccessful in avoiding a sweep as the tandem lost in three sets.
After their rough loss versus the Fighting Maroons, Ateneo returned to dominant form against UST. Team Captain Salvado’s veteran experience and solid play in the Men’s Singles contest set the tone for Ateneo Alvarez’s mix of aggressive and controlled play styles held off the Growling Tiger’s Chozas.
The Men’s and Women’s doubles shared the same outcome with Laborte and Bernardo, and Lunod and Cervantes quickly winning their respective matches. On the other end, Mixed Doubles-duo Jason Vanzuela and Feeby Ferrer could not overcome their opponent’s strong rallies.
Head Coach Roy Callanta shared his thoughts on today’s performances, as well as his expectations for the team in tomorrow’s matchup: “Overall, I’m still proud of how the players fought and played today. Tomorrow I hope our players will be able to execute better and continue to be aggressive against Adamson.”
Ateneo will square off against the Adamson Soaring Falcons tomorrow, September 11, 8:00 AM at the Power Up Centro Atletico Sports Complex in Quezon City. The games will be streamed on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pbasmashpilipinaspage.
Team-tie score: Ateneo-UP: 0-5
Men’s Singles: Llanes def. Laborte, 21-15, 21-13
Women’s Singles: Gonzalez def. Lunod, 23-21, 21-19
Men’s Doubles: Clemente/Gonzalez def. Maliwat/Salvado, 21-9, 21-15
Women’s Doubles: Inlayo/Ramos def. Alvarez/Cervantes, 19-21, 21-15, 21-13
Mixed Doubles: Vanzuela/Fuentespina def. Bernardo/Olango, 21-15, 20-22, 21-15
Team-tie score: Ateneo-UST: 4-1
Men’s Singles: Salvado def. Basilio, 21-13, 21-15
Women’s Singles: Alvarez def. Chozas, 21-13, 21-16
Men’s Doubles: Laborte/Bernardo def. Ramirez/Sarmento, 21-14, 21-15
Women’s Doubles: Cervantes/Lunod def. Peña/Saldaga, 21-6, 20-11
Mixed Doubles: Galve/Santos def. Vanzuela/Ferrer, 23-21, 21-15
