Last season, the Green and Lady Shuttlers ended the year at third, vowing to make an improvement, but as the Badminton Championships for UAAP Season 75 draws to a close, both teams are left with familiar bronze medals.
Both squads failed to even scratch the surface as they faced the top tier teams that had a twice-to-beat advantage.
Green Shuttlers lost against its old nemesis Ateneo de Manila University, 1-3, last September 2 while the Lady Shuttlers suffered a 1-3 beat down against the Lady Tamaraws last September 5 at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall.
The first stretch
The Green Shuttlers started slow as the team suffered a loss against the Blue Eagles in the first round of eliminations. The National University Bulldogs soon followed suit, and delivered the Taft-based squad its second loss in the third round of the eliminations.
The Green Shuttlers, however, bounced back and won against UE, AdU, UST, UP, and NU before losing to FEU, leaving the Taft-based squad with a standing of 5-2, which qualified the team for the semifinals.
Losing the advantage
Lady Shuttlers almost achieved a perfect run in the eliminations, but the Ateneo Lady Blue Eagles stood in the way, and defeated the team in the third round of the eliminations. The Lady Shuttlers soon suffered another blow from the Lady Tamaraws.
The loss from the Lady Tamaraws cost the Lady Shuttlers its twice-to-beat advantage.
“Winnable talaga iyon. Totoo din nadisappoint talaga kaming lahat pati yung iba disappointed din dahil sa nangyari,” Lady Shuttlers Team Captain Angelica Ramos shared.
Shuttlers in play
Coach Owen Lopez, referring to the team’s goal for the season explained, “To win as a team, not as an individual.”
The Green and Lady Shuttlers have both had an experience in the championships in the past. Both teams are one of the strongest in their respective divisions;
moreover both have never experienced a shutout, 0-5, loss throughout a season.
The teams ended the season with numerous wins as well. Green Shuttlers’ point man Kenneth Monterubio converted all his matches into points for a 7-0 record throughout the elimination, only losing to Ateneo’s Tobi Gadi in the semis.
The powerhouse duo of Ronel Estanislao and Lance Bautista also won most of its matches, and established itself as one of the top doubles pairs in the eliminations with a 4-1 standing in the playoffs.
Lady Shuttlers also won numerous games. Danica San Ignacio led the Lady Shuttlers in the singles, winning five out of seven matches in the eliminations, while the doubles pair of Aires Montilla and Flo Lamigo pulled a 3-0 run in the pair’s doubles matches. Aires Montilla also paired up with Kristelle Salatan, garnering 2-1 wins in a doubles match.
“Iyon ang nagiging problema. Parang hindi ko alam kung ano ang gusto nila kaya iyong opportunity na binigay samin para maging twice-to-beat nabitawan bigla. Tapos iyong player hindi rin alam kung saan sila lulugar,” Coach Lopez lamented.
Lamigo, however, gave the team a consolation as she earned the women’s division’s Most Improved Player award of the season.
Missed match?
UAAP Badminton matches depend on luck and the coach’s strategy. Players are selected via blind-pairings; the result of these pairings may cost the team the championship crown.
For the Green Shuttlers, the blind-pairings against most of the team’s opponents has worked perfectly, particularly for singles player Monterubio and the doubles pair of Estanislao and Bautista.
The blind-pairings, however, also cost the Taft-based squad its chance to win the championship in a few mismatched games.
A pairing with the team best player against the opponent weakest player almost always guarantees a win for the lucky team.
“Not really [got unlucky in the pairings], actually it is on the match itself, when we submit the lineup. In the blind pairing format, you don’t really know who will be your opponent,” Coach Lopez shared.
