ATENEO de Manila University emerged victorious in a battle of title favorites in the UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Men’s Badminton tournament, edging out University of the Philippines, 3-2, Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall in Malate, Manila.
Season 86 co-MVP Lyrden Laborte ensured that the Blue Eagles would soar with a second consecutive win, dominating the returning Kervin Llanes in 32 minutes, 21-13, 21-14, and sealing a tight Battle of Katipunan.
“Of course, we’re happy that we won. We knew from the start that UP would be a tough opponent. So, of course, we hoped and prayed that everybody would do their best,” said Ateneo head coach Kennie Asuncion-Robles.
The two experienced squads split the first four matches, 2-2, setting the stage for Laborte’s heroics.
UP’s Jelo Albo opened the day with the first singles victory over Robbie Ramos, dominating 21-13, 21-16.
But Season 86 Rookie of the Year Lance Vargas quickly responded, defeating last year’s top newcomer Shan Clar, 21-14, 15-21, 24-22.
Laborte and Ramos then put the Blue Eagles back on top with a 21-12, 20-22, 21-19 win over Albo and Llanes in the first doubles match.
Arjay Lazareto and Mark Bernal later leveled the score for the Fighting Maroons with a 22-20, 15-21, 21-14 victory over Zeth Monterubio and Lance Vargas.
“In future matches, I hope they’ll continue to peak and show up with good performance because the season is long. It’s impossible to peak at every single match, but we’re hoping they’ll play really well in the most important matches,” Asuncion-Robles added.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
With the win, the Blue Eagles now share the top spot with Season 87 Finals foe National University, who also collected their second straight win after scraping past De La Salle University, 3-2.
NU’s MJ Perez and last year’s MVP Lanz Zafra needed just 18 minutes to clinch a doubles win over Miguel Cuarte and Lovic Javier, 21-13, 21-14.
Zafra then put the Bulldogs ahead with a 21-9, 21-15 sweep of Cuarte, but Javier responded for the Green Shuttlers, 22-20, 19-21, 21-6, over Perez.
John Benedict Gam and James Villarante restored order for NU with a 21-10, 18-21, 21-12 victory over Gift Linaban and Yuan Tan. Linaban closed the day for De La Salle with an 18-21, 21-17, 21-13 win over Ben Dictado.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Meanwhile, University of Santo Tomas earned its first win of the season, 3-2, over Adamson University.
John Espinoza and Janzen Panisales recorded their first victory as partners, completing a 13-21, 21-11, 21-13 reverse sweep over Gabriel Ganoy and Noel Hernandez Jr., giving the Golden Shuttlers their breakthrough win over the winless Soaring Falcons.
UST set the tone early with Lennox Cuilao defeating Adamson rookie John Russel Oliveros, 15-21, 21-15, 24-22, followed by JM Sison’s quick 21-8, 21-13 win over Heaven Linaban.
Nathan Acedillo and Oliveros fought back for Adamson, winning a marathon 21-14, 29-27 over Ron Galve and Bien Miraflor, but Espinoza and Panisales sealed the win for UST.
Acedillo later added a singles win for Adamson over Angelo Tuazon, 10-21, 21-16, 21-14.
UST and UP now share third place with identical 1-1 records.
The qualifying round continues on Wednesday at 8 a.m., at the same Malate venue, with NU and Ateneo going for their third straight wins against UST and Adamson, respectively, while UP and DLSU face off in the other tie.
