The DLSU Green Tennisters were able to bounce back from last Sunday’s loss by sweeping the UP Fighting Maroons earlier today, 5-0, at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Courts.
LA Cañizares shared that the team’s loss against UST last weekend created a big impact on the team, “Ang dami namin na realize nung game na yun kasi ang dami naming chance para manalo that time so ngayon yung laro namin sa UP, di talaga kami nag-relax, lahat ng puntos pinaghirapan namin, hindi kami bumitaw. Yun yung difference from last week and today’s game.”
(We realized a lot during that game because we had so many chances of winning which is why in our game against UP, we didn’t relax, we worked hard for those points, we didn’t let go. That’s the difference between last week and today’s game.)
Cañizares gave the team their first win of the day after facing off with UP’s Joel Atienza. Atienza claimed the first set, 3-6, but the Tennister answered back by winning 6-2 in the second and third set. Qoqo Allian and Jonah Cano contributed to the team’s score as well after their intense doubles match with Vincent Alanis and Auden Paduganan, that ended with scores of 6-4, 1-6, and 6-1.
With one more win needed to seal the game, it was team captain Kyle Parpan who brought the victory home after a lengthy match against UP’s Joshua Cano. The Maroon netter took the first set, 6-4, but struggled to maintain his composure after he and Parpan exchanged points, deuce after deuce in the second set. Eventually, the Lasallian finished off the second set, 6-4, followed by a solid victory in the third, 6-1, to seal the matchup victory for DLSU.
Even with the tie already decided, the second half of the day was still in favor of the Green Tennisters. Betto Orendain represented them in the final singles match against UP’s Miko Ringia. Orendain easily bested Ringia, 6-0, 6-2, to bounce back from his loss last Sunday.
The day was capped off on a strong note when Hans Asistio and Rap Teng paired up to face UP’s Carlos Austria and Kyle Joseph. Despite the Maroons going all-out for the win, Austria and Joseph succumbed to the Green-and-White, 6-4, 6-2.
“Lahat kami maganda yung pinakita,” said Cañizares when asked about his thoughts on today’s game. “Yung first three games medyo down, pero pag dating naman ng third set, kita naman yung performance namin. Mas lamang kami sa resistensya at sa skills. Doon na talaga lahat ng pinaghirapan namin sa training.”
(We all did our best. We were a bit down during the first three games but when we got to the third set, our performance was evident. We had more stamina and skills. It was there that we saw all our hard work from training.)
The Green Tennisters are set to play for their third win of the season as they face off with the defending champions, UE, on February 18, Sunday, at the same venue.
