The Ateneo Lady Eagles outlasted the De La Salle Lady Archers in a thrilling tie to force a do-or-die contest tomorrow against the Taft-based squad in the semi-finals of the UAAP Season 78 Women’s Badminton Tournament.
La Salle had a twice-to-beat advantage going into the tie which was rendered obsolete after Ateneo beat them 3-1.
The first singles match was between Ateneo’s Bianca Carlos and La Salle’s Arianne Rivera. Carlos dominated both games to win the match 21-15 and 21-13. Carlos won the first game once she lead 5-3. Rivera tried to keep up with her unforced errors and Carlos making her shots made it an easy win for the latter. Rivera displayed nervousness throughout her match to which Carlos capitalized. The second game was similar to the first as Carlos led all the way after leading 3-2.
La Salle then gained a match after Iyah Sevilla won over Ateneo’s Lim. Lim won the pulsating first game with a score of 19-21. Sevilla led 18-16, only for Lim equalize at 19-19. With momentum at her side, Lim scored the next two points to win the first game. The next two games were straightforward 21-13 wins for Sevilla. After coming back to 7-6, Sevilla did not lose the lead and won the second game comfortable. Come the third game, Sevilla led 4-1 from the start and never looked back. Lim tried to impose hersel in the third game but it was to no avail.
Geva De Vera & Janel Dihiansan represented Ateneo for the first double’s match versus La Salle’s Kristelle Salatan and Isay Leonardo. Both games were narrow wins for the Lady Eagles as their opposites made it a point to keep up with them till the end. De Vera and Dihiansan led 19-15 but La Salle forced a deuce. From the deuce, Ateneo scored two straight points to win the first game 22-20. The second game followed a similar script to the first as Ateneo had a 13-7 lead at the start. Afterwards, Salatan and Leonardo recovered to lead 14-13. An 18-16 lead was attained by La Salle only for Ateneo to come back with five successive points, winning the game 21-18.
Ateneo sealed the win courtesy of their best singles players in the second doubles match. Carlos and Lim returned for the Lady Eagles facing La Salle’s Nicole Albo and Aires Montilla. The first game was very much a no-contest as Carlos and Lim demolished the Lady Archers, winning the game 21-8. Albo and Montilla wrote a different narrative during the second game with their better performance. La Salle led 8-11 at the interval, raising their lead to 11-13. Ateneo reimposed themselves to lead 14-15. It was anyone’s game to win at that point with La Salle forcing a deuce. Ateneo eventually won the game 24-22.
As mentioned above, Ateneo will now face La Salle tomorrow (October 11, 2015) for a do-or-die tie after the latter went into today’s fixture with a twice-to-beat advantage. The tie will be held in the Rizal Memorial Badminton Center.
The winner of tomorrow’s tie shall earn the right to face UP who has a thrice-to-beat advantage after sweeping the elimination round.
