The De La Salle Green Archers came out victorious against the Far Eastern University Tamaraws in their first match-up of the season earlier today at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall. DLSU won all but one match, as FEU managed to snatch the final singles match.
The Green Shuttlers came up short of the gold last season, as they fell to the National University Bulldogs in the finals for the second straight year. The Tamaraws, on the other hand, have been falling short of the Final Four since their championship in 2006.
Team Captain Kenneth Montedubio of La Salle took the first match against FEU’s Justin Trecias in two games, 21-17, 21-10. The game was back and forth early on, with the first game tied at 10 apiece. However, Monterubio had better placing and decision making early on to keep Trecias at bay for the first game. The second game became lopsided, as Trecias struggled against Monterubio, giving DLSU the first win of the tie.
DLSU veteran Anton Cayanan kept La Salle in the winning column as he took a two-setter victory against Estario Bacalso of FEU. Both players had cold starts in the first game, with their points coming from unforced errors. However, Cayanan picked up the pace and led 20-10 at game point. Bacalso tried to catch up, sparking a 5-0 run, but had a crucial error that gave the final point and the first game to The Green Shuttlers with a score of 21-15. The second game had a similar story, as Bacalso continued to struggle. Cayanan sealed the match as he ended the second game with a similar score of 21-15.
The first doubles match of the day proved to be a crucial one, with DLSU clinching the win against FEU. Cayel Pajarillo and Jerickson Obaob of La Salle barely escaped with the win against Tamaraws Josh Maquelabit and Rafael Dionisio in two games, 25-23, 21-18.
The Green Shuttlers also took the first non-bearing match with Joshua and Kenneth Monterubio narrowly winning against Justin Trecias and Estario Bacalso, 21-19, 21-18, in the first and second game respectively.
The Tamaraws then snatched the last match of the day, as Josh Maquelabit pulled of a comeback against Andrew Pineda of La Salle. Maquelabit lost the first game against Pineda but bounced back to steal the win in three games, 18-21, 26-24, 16-14.
