Fresh from their still dentless 2-0 standing, the DLSU Green Shuttlers proved to remain in their winning form as they rolled over their Ateneo counterpart in a near seeping 4-1 victory to stay in contention for first against fellow top seed NU Bulldogs on Wednesday, at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall.
DLSU Veteran Gerald Sibayan drew the first blood against ADMU team captain Clarence Filart, who despite leading early in the first set, ultimately lost 21-19 in after numerous lead changes. The second set saw Sibayan on the initiative as he quickly notched six points ahead to Filart’s single point. Filart however, managed to mount a comeback to cut Sibayan’s lead to three points as they enter the 11th point interval 11-9 in favor of La Salle. The intense rally ensued after the break as Filart bravely caught up with Sibayan’s every lead, which forced the game into a deuce. Despite his spirited comeback, Filart conceded the set 22-20 to give Sibayan the match win for the Taft-based squad.
The Green and White continued its attack in the second match as a powerful Kenneth Monterubio disposed of an equally powerful ADMU’s Jan Mangubat in a heated match-up that witnessed yet another deuce in the first set, which ended in a similar 22-20 set victory for DLSU. Their second set was just as exciting as both shuttlers rallied to keep the scores close until the end, where Monterubio finally created a gap that won the set 21-17.
The doubles matches did not stop Ateneo’s fall as they too would taste dirt in both the first and second doubles matches, despite a heated attempt to stop La Salle in its track. The defense of the Atenean duo Carlo Remo and Hanz Bernardo conceded to Sibayan and his partner, Anton Cayanan, after a close first set 21-19 and a brutal second set that ended 21-14.
Second doubles Filart, along with his partner, Fides Bagasbas, also succumbed to the La Salle pressure as they’re spirited attempt also failed despite pushing a deuce in the first which they ultimately lost 22-20 and a hard fought defeat in the second set 21-16 to give DLSU’s Monterubio brothers, Joshua and Kenneth, La Salle’s fourth and final match win for the day.
Team Captain EJ Boac would prove to be DLSU’s only setback as his match against Hanz Bernardo resulted to be ADMU’s only win after a tense three-set match, that concluded 13-21, 21-18, and 18-21.
