With the first round of elimination games completed, the Green Paddlers now sit in third place alongside the AdU Soaring Falcons with a win-loss record of 4-3, while the Lady Paddlers remain at the top of the tournament after being victorious in all seven of their games.
Green Paddler’s inconsistency
Last September 22, the Men’s division commenced the tournament with a win over FEU after a hard fought battle in five matches, 3-2, but were unable to obtain their second victory of the season after losing to the defending champions, the NU Bulldogs, in four games, 3-1.
The Green Paddlers bounced back from the loss by successfully defeating archrivals ADMU Blue Eagles and the UE Red Warriors the next day. The Green-and-White won against ADMU in four games, 3-1, while managing to get a win against UE in five tightly-contested games, 3-2.
A 3-0 victory over the UP Fighting Maroons improved the record of DLSU to four wins and one loss, but the celebration was cut short as La Salle was unable to triumph over last season’s first runner up, the UST Growling Tigers, in a four match lost, 3-1.
Looking to secure third place in the rankings with a victory over the AdU Soaring Falcons, the Green Paddlers gave it their all, but it wasn’t enough to secure a win as they fell to AdU in four games, 3-1. This helped the Soaring Falcons tie for third place alongside the Taft-based squad with a win-loss record of 4-3.
Lady Paddler’s winning streak
The Lady Paddlers began their season showcasing what they practiced during the trainings by impressingly defeating the FEU Lady Tamaraws, 3-0, and carried on their momentum to the next match against the UE Lady Warriors wherein they were victorious after four games, 3-1.
The following day, September 23, the Women’s division outplayed both the UP Lady Maroons and the AdU Lady Falcons after putting them away quickly, 3-0. This improved their win-loss record to 4-0 which kept them at the top of the tournament.
The results of the games on September 28 were identical to that of September 23 as the Lady Paddlers made quick work of the NU Lady Bulldogs and archrivals ADMU Lady Eagles, securing a win over both opponents in three matches, 3-0.This gave the team from Taft an outstanding record of six wins and zero losses.
Heading into their final game of the first round, last season’s first runner ups, the UST Golden Tigresses, also held a win-loss record of 6-0, which meant that this game would determine who would remain undefeated at the end of the first round and acquire first place advantage.
DLSU emerged victorious after a hard fought five match duel with UST, 3-2. The Lady Paddlers were successful in securing the top seed heading towards the second round of the tournament. The second round games will become even tougher to play, especially with the adjustments that the other teams will be implementing to vie with the Taft-based squad.
