The DLSU Green and Lady Shuttlers finished with mixed results against UST’s Growling Tigers in the final day of the eliminations round of the UAAP Men’s and Women’s Badminton Tournament yesterday, October 18, at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall.
With both squads still in contention for the semifinals, solid Lasallian defense propelled the Green Shuttlers to a 4-1 victory, while the Lady Shuttlers were met with their fourth loss of the season against the Golden Tigresses, 4-1.
Great green resistance
Prized rookie Lovic Javier once again kicked off the match against UST Growling Tiger Juan Sison. Breezing through, Javier controlled the match all throughout, baiting Sison to the court’s left side just to shoot for the opposite. Constant lunging for the shuttle drained Sison as he struggled to recenter himself in the court, dropping the first set at 21-6. Keeping the pace, Javier’s strategy saved him more energy and composure than his opponent, who was often forced to make desperate saves that resulted in a 21-10 closure of the second set, 2-0 overall.
Losing their first match, Thomasian Lennox Cuilao tightened his game against DLSU’s Joshua Cuarte in lengthy rallies where any error meant scoring for the opponent. With back-and-forth scoring spanning the set, no player made an advantage of more than four points throughout the slow crawl to 21. Eventually ending the first set at 21-18, no player definitively dominated until Cuilao’s piercing offense gained a six-point advantage while Cuarte returned every smash in an error. Tides turned as Cuarte took a defensive approach to close the gap, but was never able to gain an advantage before the 21-19 conclusion in the second set. Repeating their patterns, the final set emerged to be a Lasallian loss of 22-20.
Seeking to break the tie, UST’s Ron Galve and Bien Miraflor’s snappy offense crushed the Green Shuttlers with roaring cheers after every point. Earning a 21-15 advantage, the UST duo were speedy and energetic, often jumpy throughout the match—a complete opposite of DLSU’s Joshua Morada and Yuan Tan initial stiffness. Kickstarting the second set, the Green Shuttlers were conservative of their energy yet were exceptional in coverage throughout the clinched scoring and the heavy Thomasian offense. Constant smashing drained the Tigers, allowing the Lasallians to carve a five-point streak to seal a second-set victory of 21-18. The third game featured changes in strategy as the Thomasians sought to force the Green Shuttlers into chasing the ball while the Lasallians went on the offensive. The Tigers’ dwindling energy eventually led to lapses in defense and a 21-17 loss on their end.
Cuarte returned with Zaki Layno in the second doubles match to display balanced gameplay against the Tigers’ lacking coverage. Attempting to gain a third set, UST’s John Espinoza and Janzen Panisales furthered their aggression to gain a 12-4 advantage. However, La Salle leaped a nine-point streak to take the lead, going to and fro with heavier offense as they clinched the set at 22-20.
Riding off three team victories, James Capin breezed through the final match, opening the match with a 6-1 streak and ending it with four consecutive points to earn a 21-14 victory in the first set. His opponent, Ivan Tuazon, often hitting the net all throughout, allowed Capin to score three four-point streaks in the second set, solidifying La Salle’s fourth win of the matchup with 21-11 on the board and claiming their maiden victory of the season.
One-hit wonder
Hoping to match the Green Shuttlers’ prior win, the Lady Shuttlers went into the court with their heads held high as team captain Ghiselle Erica Bautista got things rolling for the Lady Shuttlers against UST’s Hanie Mae De Jesus. Bautista quickly showed dominance by capitalizing on the Thomasian’s wide placement errors to the far end of the court, eventually snatching the first canto with help from a 6-0 run that augmented a lopsided 21-12 affair. However, De Jesus quickly found her footing in the second set with successful attempts to lure the Lasallian into creating vulnerable spots, promptly extending the match with a 21-9 demolition job. The third set proved to be the most contested as both sides went back and forth, but it was Bautista who emerged victorious to take the first singles faceoff and the Green-and-White’s eventual lone win of the day, 21-18.
Riding high on their first-game win, Lady Tuario set out to make it double against UST rookie Christine Dorega in the second singles bout. The first set was a close race that forced an extension, with the Lady Shuttler’s two straight errors at the homestretch costing the first-set win, squandering a valiant effort that gave her two set-point opportunities, 24-22. Tuario encountered an even tougher hill to climb in the second set, being faced with Dorega’s six match points, which, after a formidable attempt to cut the lead down to two, eventually went in the yellow jersey’s favor to tie the match at one win apiece, 21-18.
Looking to quickly bounce back from the loss were Ma. Army Espe and Mia Manguilimotan, who locked arms with UST seniors Jennifer Helyn Saladaga and Rhaffi Anne Santos for the first doubles matchup. The Lasallian duo immediately struggled to control their foes’ offense, with straight attack points igniting a 9-0 run for the Thomasians to quickly close out the set, 21-15. Despite a more balanced showing from both teams in the second set, the Growling Tigresses’ impenetrable floor defense eventually tired DLSU’s offense out at the tail-end, chalking up another win on the España-based squad’s side, 21-17.
It was déjà vu for the ladies in green as the second doubles faceoff witnessed similar results, with team captain Bautista and Viana Meryl Antonio looking to avenge their previous losses and deny the Tigresses a guaranteed win against Marielle Kynah Alvarez and Hanie Mae De Jesus. UST sought out an aggressive offense that was too strong for the Taft mainstays to control, eventually edging out the Lasallians with a rough 21-15 showing. Despite turning to a more assertive offense at the DLSU side, the Thomasians continued to show out in the defensive department, ending the second set with a net kill to breeze past the Lady Shuttlers with a guaranteed overall win for the day, 21-17.
Last but not least was Manguilimotan’s third singles match against UST’s Reshane Marie Nicor, aiming to end the bout on a high note despite the inevitable result. Manguilimotan quickly took control of the first set with her dominant offense on top of Nicor’s untimely wide ball errors, 21-16. The second and third sets quickly went downhill as the Tigress went on with building shots and hitting to the empty spaces while taking advantage of Manguilimotan’s error-plagued runs to complete a reverse sweep against the Taft stalwart in dominant fashion, 21-11, 21-9, and snatch UST a 4-1 overall win.
With the last semifinals slot still up for grabs, both teams valiantly finished the qualifications in a three-way tie with the AdU Soaring and Lady Falcons and the UST Growling Tigers and Tigresses. Holding a playoff bye advantage, the Green Shuttlers will meet the winner of the playoffs between the Soaring Falcons and the Growling Tigers for fourth place on Monday, October 20, at 8 am. Meanwhile, the Lady Shuttlers will face the Lady Falcons today, October 19, at 1 pm, with the winner progressing to a match against the Growling Tigresses for the fourth seed on Monday, October 20, at 1 pm.
