With the UAAP Season 76 shifting into full gear for the remaining first half sporting events, the DLSU Green Shuttlers and Lady Shuttlers start anew with their quest for redemption and the UAAP Badminton gold.
Despite being locked at the third place tier for the past three seasons, both teams are expecting to breakaway from their perrenial bronze crown and reach the pinnacle of the rankings this year.
Both teams kicked off the UAAP tournament last September 1 at the Jumpsmash Badminton Court in Quezon City with the Green Shuttlers squaring off against the current champions, National University, while the Lady Shuttlers faced their archrivals from Ateneo de Manila University.
First game sweep
Eager to make a comeback in the UAAP scene, the Lady Shuttlers experienced a beat down and a sweep in their first game of the tournament against the current women’s champions, the Lady Eagles, who then delivered a 5-0 win to seal the deal.
Aires Montilla endured a swift defeat as she locked horns with Ateneo’s Bianca Carlos after a 9-21, 9-21 first singles loss gave the Blue-and-White side the immediate upper hand.
With the momentum on the Lady Eagles’ corner, DLSU’s Danica Bolos pushed a classic three set match-up with ADMU’s Patricia Malibiran on the other side of the court, however, the third set tipped the scale into the opposition’s side as the second singles concluded with scores of 15-21, 21-18, 17-21.
Representing the Green-and-White’s side for the first doubles, Aires Montilla suited up once more with rookie Alyssa Leonardo to do battle with Bianca Carlos and Janelle De Vera. With the match at stake, the pair of Montilla and Leonardo maintained a close trail behind the Ateneo duo and won the second set, although the third set ultimately caused the match to end and the Lady Eagles ran away with a 19-21, 21-17, 11-21 victory.
The second doubles deepened the wound for the Lady Shuttlers as Danica Bolos and Angelic Ramos failed to capitalize on the second set of the match against Dia Magno and Patricia Malibiran who finished the match with a close 19-21, 21-23 win.
Lady Shuttler captain Danica San Ignacio squared off against Janelle De Vera for the third singles. De Vera completed the sweep for the Lady Eagles after a 15-21, 18-21 conquest against San Ignacio.
First game triumph
On the other hand, the Green Shuttlers sent a statement throughout the rest of the field after nearly achieving a sweep over the UAAP 75 champion National University, as their day ended with a 4-1 victory.
Gerald Sibayan delivered the first blow in the first singles after Roslee Pedrosa failed to defend against the ongoing barrage, which concluded in a 21-14, 21-17 successful victory.
The second singles, however, brought a stalemate for both teams when Ej Boac fell to NU’s Joper Escueta in a three set game that ended with a 16-21, 23-21, 23-21 loss for DLSU.
De La Salle University regained the momentum in the first doubles when Gerald Sibayan and Anton Cayanan pushed through the defenses and efforts of NU’s doubles, Joper Escueta and Aries De Los Santos, as they finished with a score of 16-21, 23-21, 23-21.
Shutting down the game were Paolo Santos and Joshua Monterubio, and the DLSU pair dominated the match-up against Roslee Pedrosa and Paolo Cullao with a total tally of 21-13, 21-8.
Delivering the finishing blow, however, was the task of Allen Del Mundo as he knocked Aries De Los Santos down and finish the game with a 22-20, 20-22, 21-19 score.
Both teams will be back in action against the Adamson Soaring Falcons at the Jumpsmash Badminton Court once again this September 7.
