University of Santo Tomas continued its dominance in the UAAP Season 87 Men’s and Women’s Table Tennis tournaments, sweeping the elimination round to secure outright Finals berths on Sunday at the Homecourt, Ayala Malls Manila Bay in Parañaque.
The five-peat-seeking Tiger Paddlers extended their historic winning streak to 42 matches after clinching a flawless 12-0 record.
Abraham Antivo and Prince Garcia sealed UST’s 3-0 victory over Far Eastern University with an 11-6, 11-6, 11-5 sweep against Kyran Kyle Javier and Delfin Lara III.
This marked UST’s fourth consecutive outright Finals berth.
Earlier in the day, Cayl Chavez and Al J Sanchez led UST to its 11th win by defeating University of the East’s Engelo Columna and Vincent Origenes, 11-2, 11-9, 10-12, 12-10.
The Finals series for both the men’s and women’s divisions, backed by sponsors Akari, Topcoms Marketing, and Hua Ching Foundation, is set for Tuesday.
In the men’s stepladder playoffs, Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University will battle for the semifinal bye at 8 a.m. on Monday.
Both teams ended the eliminations with identical 8-4 win-loss records.
Ateneo earned its eighth win through Mahendra Cabrido’s straight-sets victory over UE’s Johnster Rosales, 14-12, 14-12, 11-4.
Meanwhile, La Salle’s Andrei Villacruel and Peter Zambrano triumphed against Adamson University’s Jhon Balucos and Aldrean Gacho, 10-12, 13-11, 11-6, 12-10, securing their eighth win as well.
Adamson awaits the loser of the Ateneo-La Salle match to kick off the stepladder series.
UST’s Lady Paddlers mirrored their male counterparts, also sweeping the elimination round with a 12-0 record to secure a direct ticket to the Finals.
Kathleen Gabisay and Leigh Villanueva wrapped up the sweep with a dominant performance against UE’s Jean Ramos and Ainsley Ramos, winning 11-6, 11-9, 11-7.
Earlier in the day, Gabisay partnered with Corrine Cartera to defeat University of the Philippines’ Ella Hicap and Rea Rusiana, 11-5, 11-5, 8-11, 11-3.
The Lady Tamaraws claimed the stepladder semifinal bye in the women’s division, improving to a 7-3 record after a hard-fought 3-2 win over reigning champion La Salle.
Ashly Sobrevilla sealed the victory by defeating Marioni Caoile, 11-7, 11-4, 11-8, in the deciding match.
La Salle (7-5) will now face the Ateneo Blue Eagles (6-6) in the first round of the stepladder playoffs, with both teams fighting to keep their championship hopes alive.
