Facing in the final match of the Season 77 men’s table tennis tournament were defending champions and first seed De La Salle University and the feisty University of the Philippines. The Green Paddlers swept the entire tournament to book the automatic finals berth, while the paddlers from Maroon had to climb their way to the finals, outlasting FEU and UST.
Lineups
DLSU
Cristobal, Jerald B.
Garganian, Edmund Jr. C
Garganian, Francis C.
Ledesma, Walden Shayne A.
Ruiz, Jeremy Simone C.
Solis, Leonard Mark T.
Yatco, Jethro Reuel C.
Yu, John Kenneth K.
UP
Borja, Jobert Kenneth E.
Cacao, Rowell B.
Chua, Ralpha Adrian O.
De Jesus, Jeferson U.
Duot, Dominic Roy B.
Eludo, Marco Leon O.
Lamayan, Ray Paulo C.
Victorio, Christian Jorge R.
Tiu, Lowell Kyle L.
Game 1- October 2, 8am
The opening encounter between the two title contenders would prove to be quite the blowout for the defending champs. Walden Ledesma, Jerald Cristobal, and the doubles tandem of Francis Garganian and John Kenneth Yu would manage to register victories in all three of their assignments, with none of them letting their opponents a single set victory. After barely an hour of play, the Green Paddlers would be up 1-0 in the series, 9-0 in total sets played.
Game 2- October 2, 10am
The paddlers from Taft would return to the court with their knives still sharpened. Walden Ledesma would pull through from a five-set opening encounter with UP’s Jeferson De Jesus to give La Salle the upper hand. Jerald Cristobal would pile on the lead, routing UP’s Jobert Borja, 3-0, in the second match. The defending champs would then go on to secure the title, after a 3-1 doubles victory from John Kenneth Yu and Francis Garganian over UP’s Marco Eludo and Ray Lamayan.
Individual awards
Most Valuable Player- Jerald Cristobal(DLSU)
Rookie of the Year-Vladamir Renz C. Rarama(AdU)
