The DLSU Lady Shuttlers have come a long way on their road to winning it all in Season 80. However, in their latest semifinals match against rival school ADMU, the Blue Eagles forced a knockout match against the twice-to-beat Lady Shuttlers in their meeting yesterday at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Courts. The latest match-up became one of the most intense set of matches of the season because of the semifinal stage and the rivalry present in the court.
The showdown
The semifinals began with Nicole Albo going against Bianca Carlos of the Blue Eagles and the latter overpowered the Lasallian in two games, giving Ateneo the lead, 1-0. The Lady Shuttlers were able to recover from their first loss as they took the next two games. Rivera represented the Lady Shuttlers in the second singles match as she evened out the standing of DLSU against ADMU, prevailing against ADMU’s Lim.
Next, the team of Albo and Leonardo gave DLSU the lead, 2-1, as they faced up against ADMU’s De Vera and Malibiran in a three game match-up. However, Ateneo evened out the match standing again as Lunod and Carlos took the second doubles match-up against Lady Shuttler’s Sevilla and Tercias.
The atmosphere only intensified as the match-up came down to the Lady Shuttler’s Sevilla and the Blue Eagle’s Malibiran. The first game went in Malibiran’s favor but the second game was conquered by DLSU’s Sevilla. The last game started rough for the Lady Shuttlers, however, as she managed to catch up to Malibiran and for a while, took the lead. In the end, though, Ateneo kept its season alive, with Malibiran winning, 23-21.
It comes down to this
The Lady Shuttlers fell short in the match-up and today’s meeting with ADMU will be their last chance to advance into further competition. With the results of the latest game, it is safe to say that it can be anyone’s game; both schools were able to deliver intense game plays since the start of the semi-finals. “It’s nobody’s game and anyone can win,” says Coach Owen Lopez.
DLSU and ADMU meet today for a knockout match to book a slot in the finals of the tournament.
