The University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons ended the first round of the UAAP season 77 Table Tennis Tournament at the Ateneo Blue Eagle Gym with a 6-1 win-loss record, landing them at 2nd place.
The Fighting Maroons would start their 1st day strong, defeating all of their opponents.
UP vs ADMU (1-0)
UP faced-off with fellow Katipuneros, the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Paddlers. The Maroons won convincingly, 3-0. All of UP’s line-up of singles competitors De Jesus and Victorio would remain undefeated, and the doubles pair of Eludo and Duot would follow in their footsteps.
UP vs FEU (2-0)
The Maroons would go head-to-head against the Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws next. Unlike the match-up against ADMU, this match went down the wire. UP started strong with Chua getting a 3-0 win over FEU’s Igno. FEU would win the second match, 2-3. The pair of Eludo and Cacao would grab the win once more for UP, 3-1 over their FEU counterparts. Ahead 2-1, UP’s C.J Victorio tried to close out FEU’s Osorno, but would fail. With the series tied, it went down to J. De Jesus (UP) and Villanueva (FEU) to grab the win for their respective teams. In the end it would be UP’s De Jesus win, 3-0.
UP vs AdU (3-0)
The Diliman based squad’s 3rd match would feature the Adamson University (AdU) Falcons. The Maroons would see C.J. Victorio, and J. De Jesus victorious scoring 3-2, and 3-1. The lone doubles match showcased UP’s D.Duot and M.Eludo winning over Adamson’s M. Sinchongco and Y.Tortosa, 3-2.
UP vs DLSU (3-1)
UP would start the second day of the tournament on a sour note. They would lose to the defending champions De La Salle University (DLSU) paddlers. The Maroons would not get a single win, scoring 0-3, 2-3, and 0-3 for their match-ups.
UP vs UST (4-1)
The Maroons, however bounced back against one of the favorites, University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tigers. The Maroons would grab hard fought wins over the Tigers, losing only their doubles match.
UP’s De Jesus started strong winning the 1st two sets of his match-up against UST’s G.Ablangue. He would bounce back in the next two sets to force a 5th and deciding set that would eventually bring UP a match victory. R. Chua, on the other hand, started slow losing his 1st set against his UST counterpart. He would then try to rally, but would only win the 2nd and 3rd sets. After failing to close out his opponent in the 4th set, He would finish the deciding 5th set in convincing manner. Both De Jesus and R.Chua would record 3-2 in their matches. UP would lose in the doubles match-up. With the game on the line K.Borja would step-up and demolish his competitor. UP wins 3-1.
UP vs UE (5-1)Â
UP would dominate against the University of the East (UE) Warriors. De Jesus’match was a nail biter once again, with the match going down the wire. He would eventually win, 3 sets to 2. C. Victorio and the doubles pair of Eludo and Cacao would breeze through their match-ups scoring 3-1 and 3-0 for the Maroons.
UP vs NU (6-1)
The Maroons’ final opponents the National University (NU) Bulldogs gave them a scare as both the singles matches went down the line. UP would take both singles matches with a 3-2 win-loss record. The pair of Cacao and Eludo breezed through NU’s Manuel and Terante, 3-0.
