The DLSU Green and Lady Shuttlers opened their season last Thursday, September 22, at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall with the former facing UST and the latter, AdU. The Green Shuttlers then had two more match-ups over the weekend, going up against AdU and ADMU on September 23 and 24, while the Lady Shuttlers battled UP, the reigning champions of UAAP badminton, last September 23 at the same venue.
After the first weekend of play, the Green Shuttlers have two wins and one loss while the Lady Shuttlers split their first two match-ups and now hold a one win and one loss record.
Green Shuttlers’ first day victory
The Green Shuttlers struggled in their first two matches against the Growling Tigers, opening with a defeat from team captain Jerick Obaob against John Edgard Yabut, 21-18, 21-15, and another from Andrew Pineda who faced John Paul Yabut and lost, 25-23, 21-18.
The team, however, was able to redeem itself during the doubles round with Obaob and Cayel Pajarillo teaming up and prevailing against UST’s Sotea and Reyes in three games, with a scoreline of 18-21, 21-17, 21-18. The team then garnered another win with Bee Monterubio along with Pineda finishing Kristian Barrios and Juan Miguel Santiago in only two games, 21-19, 21-14, tying the scores of both teams at two-all.
With only one match-up left, Pajarillo was able to seal the victory against Chris Sanchez, 21-19, 21-10, to give DLSU their first win of the season, in a close contest, 3-2.
Lady Shuttlers rise above Soaring Falcons
The Lady Shuttlers began their season on a high note, sweeping all games against AdU. Nicole Albo showed dominance over Jhayanne Macabenta with an impressive scoreline of 21-4, 21-6. Mariya Sevilla was also able to continue their great start by winning 21-13, 21-11 against Mika Aquino.
Albo, together with national team player Alyssa Leonardo, was able to clinch another win against AdU’s Macabenta and Alyssa San Pedro with scores of 21-7, 21-10. Next, Sevilla and Lindsay Tercias were able to contribute a fourth win, against Aquino and Clydel Pada, 21-13, 21-14.
The Lady Shuttlers were able to end the day with a clean victory from Arianne Rivera, who matched up against Pada and won in only two games, scored 21-13, 21-14, respectively.
Green Shuttlers continue to soar
After a hard fought win on their first day, the Green Shuttlers were able to bounce back with a strong 5-0 scoreline against the AdU Soaring Falcons. Obaob was the first to play as he faced Kevin Fabros, winning 21-17, 21-14, which gave the team the first win of the day. Glenn Camillo then followed by winning 21-10 in the first game against Elben Concha, followed by a score of 21-11 in the subsequent game.
Obaob and Pajarillo teamed up against Adamson’s Jhonrick Macabenta and Fabros in the doubles round and sealed the match in two quick games, with scores of 21-11, 21-12.
Monterubio and Pineda then followed and scored 21-19 in the first game against Concha and Antonio, followed by a score of 21-9 in the second game, with Pineda performing a quick jump smash to finish the match.
Pajarillo was up for the final match of the day for the men’s division as he went against AdU’s Macabenta. He struggled in three games but was eventually able to grab the win, garnering scores of 21-15, 11-21, 21-19 which gave the Green Shuttlers their second win for the season with a score of 5-0.
Lady Shuttlers suffer first loss against Lady Maroons
After sweeping the Soaring Falcons, the Lady Shuttlers failed to continue their momentum as they suffered their first defeat of the season, against the Lady Maroons. Rivera played three games against Malvine Alcala, with the teams splitting the first two games, 18-21, 21-17. However, Alcala sealed the first match on the third game with a score of 13-21. Albo was able to give her team its first victory of the day in the second match against Mary Marañon, with scores of 21-10 and 21-15.
The first doubles match of the day was spearheaded by Sevilla and Tercias who challenged UP’s Alcala and Jessie Francisco. Although the Lady Shuttlers were defensive, the duo from Diliman was able to put its skills to the test and finished both games with scores of 17-21 and 12-17. The last doubles round was led by Leonardo and Albo who produced a thrilling three-set matchup against Lady Maroons Marañon and Eleonor Inlayo. The opposing team scored a deuce on the first game, but was quickly shut down by Inlayo’s spectacular drive, giving UP a game win of 20-22. The pair from DLSU was able to redeem themselves in the second game, winning 21-19, but lost against UP with two deuces in the final game, closing the match with a score of 23-21.
Due to the exhausting doubles match from the previous game, Inlayo was forced to retire in her first game against Sevilla, giving the Lady Shuttlers their second win of the day, with a score of 21-12. Nevertheless, UP won the match-up against DLSU, 3-2.
Green Shuttlers fall to ADMU
After two straight wins, the Green Shuttlers suffered their first loss of the season against the Blue Eagles, losing 1-4. Obaob was first up against Enrico Asuncion in a three-set match. The team captain was able to win the first game, 21-19, but Asuncion secured the first match with both of the following games ending with a 12-21 scoreline. Camillo, determined to give the team its first win of the day, was up against Carlo Remo but was likewise outskilled and lost in both sets, 19-21, 17-21.
Obaob and Pajarillo, however, were able to grab a win in the first doubles match against Blue Eagles Clarence Filart and Patrick Gecosala; with a 21-18 scoreline in the first game and a deuce in the second, that was won by a crosscourt smash done by Pajarillo, ending the game with a score of 22-20. The Blue Eagles, however, were able to get back on their feet in the last doubles match of the day with Monterubio and Pineda representing the Green-and-White and Remo and Asuncion representing ADMU. The Ateneans were able to snatch the first game with a backhand which ended the game, 15-21, followed by four straight points made by Asuncion, sealing the second game with a score of 21-18.
The day was capped off by a three-set matchup between Pajarillo and Filart. Both players split the first two games with La Salle claiming the first game after four deuces, 26-24, and ADMU the second game, 13-21. Not long after, the Blue Eagle gave his team its fourth victory of the day by defeating Pajarillo on the third and final game, 8-21. That clinched the victory for ADMU over DLSU, 4-1.
The Lady Shuttlers look forward to redeeming themselves as they face UST this Friday, September 29, at 1 pm while the Green Shuttlers will challenge UE on the following day, September 30, at 8 am. Both games will be held at the same venue.
