Not to be outdone by their female counterparts, the DLSU Green Shuttlers have compiled an equally impressive 5-2 win-loss record at the end of the elimination round to fuel up their bid for the crown.
The Taft-based Shuttlers, who were last year’s bridesmaids next to the University of Sto. Tomas (UST), have notched the third spot in the semifinals and will face the Ateneo Blue Shuttlers, who placed second at the end of the eliminations.
Back on the winning track
In a game that featured two matches lasting nearly an hour, it was DLSU who came out on top of the University of the Philippines (UP) Shuttlers, winning four to one in their contest held last Sept. 5 at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall.
Green Shuttler Ronel Estanislao proved to be evenly matched against the Diliman-based squad’s Kelvin Panganiban in the first singles match, but after 55 minutes of heated action, it was Estanislao who lorded it over Panganiban with the score of 21-18 17-21, 21-19.
Teammate Rodel Dawal had relative ease in disposing opponent Charlo Tengco, 21-19, 21-12 in the second singles match.
The first doubles match saw early victor Estanislao teaming up with Nej Martinez and defeating the UP partnership of Gian Manuel and Roden Rivera, 21-17, 21-11. Then came the lone UP win, as team captain Bryan Chan and Ivan Angsico failed to stop the losers of the first two singles matches, Panganiban and Tengco, 13-21, 21-14, 17-21.
A measure of revenge was exacted by Green Shuttler JC Clarito as he defeated UP’s Mervin Santiago in the final singles match, 19-21, 21-12, 21-11. The victory gave the Green-and-White Shuttlers their third straight victory since suffering a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Ateneo.
The second victory of DLSU came against Far Eastern University (FEU), which they swept 5-0, as Clarito, Estanislao, Chan, Dawal and Kevin Ponciano all handed DLSU victories in all of the singles and doubles matches.
All of the matches lasted less than 30 minutes in their collision last Sept. 4, with their dominance ignited by a 21-19, 21-14 victory of Clarito in the first singles match, and culminated by Dawal thrashing off FEU’s Ian Bautista, 21-16, 21-15 in the final singles match.
Their first victim after absorbing the loss to Ateneo came in the form of the Adamson University Shuttlers. The hapless San Marcelino-based squad received the ire of DLSU, as it breezed to an easy 5-0 sweep of their matches last Aug. 29.
Suffering their first loss
It’s not only in the basketball court where these two rivals dominate the atmosphere.
The Green Shuttlers suffered their first defeat as they lost to rivals Ateneo, 3-2, Aug. 28 at the Rizal Memoriam Coliseum. Loyal students, alumni, kids and even Br. Bernie Oca FSC was in attendance to support the University.
Crowds from both Ateneo and DLSU were the perfect set-up for another battle between the rivals from Katipunan and Taft, but at the end, it was the faithful fans from Loyola that rejuvenated.
The Blue Shuttlers had their first victory as Patrick Natividad beat JC Clarito in the first singles match, 21-19, 21-17. Both athletes performed tremendously, but it was Natividad who came out on top after 35 minutes of action. The following singles match pitted Green Shuttler Nej Martizez of against Ateneo’s Antonio Gadi. The latter dominated the match from start to finish, winning in two sets, 21-4, 21-9.
The first doubles game of the match showcased team captain Bryan Chan and Ronel Estanislao of DLSU against Justin Natividad and Paolo Sunga of Ateneo. It was in this match wherein the Green Shuttlers first got a taste of victory despite the Blue Shuttlers’ attempt to stage a comeback. The Green-and-White duo retained momentum throughout the two sets, 21-13, 21-14.
The second doubles match, featured Martinez once more, this time teaming up with Ivan Angsico against winners of the first two matches, Natividad and Gadi. Once again, the Blue Shuttlers had defeated their rivals, 21-12, in both sets, which crowned Ateneo the winners of the contest.
Even with Ateneo already being victors, the Green Shuttlers had one more victory up their sleeve as Estanislao defeated Sunga in the final singles match, 21-12, 21-15.
Unbeaten after two games
Although they were eventually upended by Ateneo, the Green Shuttlers nevertheless had a stellar start to their Season 73 campaign after winning their first two assignments.
While their distaff counterparts wreaked havoc, the Shuttlers of University of the East (UE) were the exact opposite as they were soundly beaten by the Green Shuttlers, 5-0, in their match last Aug. 22 at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall.
The UE Lady Shuttlers ranked second after the end of the elimination round, but the males have only a single victory to boast. Except for the final singles match between DLSU’s Nikko Angsico and National University’s (NU) Jason Oba-ob, which lasted for nearly a quarter of an hour, all of the matches were won with ease. Angsico eventually pulled away after a tight first set, winning, 22-20, 21-17.
They made mincemeat of cellar-dwelling NU during their first match at the opening of the collegiate wars last Aug. 21 at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall by a score of 4-1, their lone defeat coming in the form of a Rowel Dawal loss against Joper Escueta of the Sampaloc-based squad.
The loss tied the count of victories for both schools at one apiece, but the succeeding matches were swept by DLSU as they atoned for their second singles match loss and marched on with the victory.
