UP’s celebration began long before the game had ended. Up 3 – 0, with their victory all but secured, the throng of UP followers along with their mens and womens team began drowning the Rizal Coliseum Badminton Hall with their school’s cheers.
Women’s Singles 1: Paola Beatriz Bernardo (UP) def. Michal Dei Duquilla (FEU) 2:1
UP 1 – FEU 0
The first match started out pretty evenly with Bernardo being able to take an early 7 – 5 lead. Duquilla then countered with 5 straight points for her team to give her the lead. Bernard fought back, slowly chipping at the lead until she was able to tie the game at 16 points. Duquilla responded with 2 points in a row, but was met with 2 more for Bernardo to keep the game even. Both ladies traded points again to tie the game at 19, but Duquilla was able to blitz Bernardo with 2 straight points to win the 1st set, 19 – 21. The 2nd set saw Duquilla take an early 2-point lead at 3 – 5, but she was met with 6 straight points from Bernardo to give Bernard a 9 – 5 advantage. Duquilla would chip at the lead by going on 2 or 3 point scoring runs, but Bernardo maintain the lead by going on runs of her own. Duquilla was able to eventually get within 1 at 17 – 16, but 4 consecutive points from Bernardo gave her the win, 21 – 16. Bernardo finally started strong for the final set, taking an early 7 – 2 advantage. Duquilla was able to get within 1 by going on her own 4-point run. Unfortunately for her, Bernardo would go on a 9 – 2 blitz that saw her with twice the points of her opponent, 16 – 8. Duquilla would try to stage a comeback by scoring 5 straight points, but they would eventually end up trading points, leading to Bernardo’s victory, 21 – 16.
Aggregate score: Bernard (61) – Duquilla (51)
Total match time: 50 mins.
Women’s Singles 2: Mary Ann Maranon (UP) def. Thea Marie Pomar (FEU) 2:0
UP 2 – FEU 0
The 1st set started out close with Maranon taking an early 3 – 1 lead that was lost when Pomar scored 3 straight points to get ahead 3 – 4. Maranon was able to counter with 7 consecutive points to give her a comfortable 10 – 4 lead. Pomar was able to chip away at the lead, and with the score at 16 – 12, go on a 4-point run to finally tie the game. Things started to get tense late in the game when Maranon’s 2-point lead vanished when Pomar scored 2 points to tie the game at 20 all. Pomar got within 1 point of winning when she was able to score over Maranon, but 3 uninterrupted points from Maranon gave her the win, 23 – 21. The 2nd set was even more intense as both players traded points until the 11-point break. The cycle was broken when trading points transformed into going on runs. Pomar struck first with 3 straight points for her team, but was countered with 5 consecutive points from Maranon. Pomar fought back with her own 4-point run to give her the slim 16 – 17 lead. Unfortunately for her, Maranon countered with 5 straight points to steal the win, 21 – 17.
Aggregate score: Maranon (44) – Pomar (38)
Total match time: 35 mins.
Women’s Doubles 1: Jessie Francisco and Maria Elisha Ongcuangco (UP) def. Thea Marie Pomar and Hannah Tudtud (FEU) 2:0
UP 3 – FEU 0 (UP wins)
The 1st set started with FEU’s 4 – 7 lead vanished when Ongcuangco bombarded them with 6 straight points to take an 11 – 8 lead. The lead ballooned as the UP squad was able to 5 – 2 run to give them a 16 – 10 lead. FEU was unable to recover from this setback as they eventuall fell, 21 – 16. The 2nd set started just as evenly as FEU was able to keep the game tied at 4 all, but UP was able to go on a 5 – 2 run that earned them a 9 – 6 advantage. FEU was finally able to retake a significant lead when they went on 4-point run to take a 16 – 19 lead. Alas, that would be their last points of the game as Ongcuangco would pilfer the victory with a 5-point burst to win, 21 – 19. With this victory, UP was sure to sweep the elimination round, and the whole UP corner began cheering loudly with their fanbase. Even their coach joined in the celebration.
Aggregate score: Francisco (16) Ongcuangco (26) – Pomar (17) Tudtud (18)
Total match time: 50 mins
Women’s Doubles 2: Marina Caculitan and Mary Ann Maranon (UP) def. Michal Dei Duquilla and Maridel Rivera (FEU) 2:0
UP 4 – FEU 0 (UP wins)
The duo from UP was able to take an early 7 – 3 lead for the 1st set, but FEU was able to chip away and get the deficit down to 1 at 10 – 9. Maranon would shock the FEU team when she would go on a 9-point blitz that pretty much secured the victory for UP. They eventually won the set, 21 – 13. During the 2nd set, FEU was able to secure an early 7 – 10 lead over UP. They were able to increase their lead to 8 – 13, but UP would go on a 7 – 1 run that would finally give them a slim 1-point lead. With UP ahead 20 – 17, FEU would make a last ditch effort by scoring 2 more points before they eventually fell to UP’s final point, 21 – 19.
Aggregate score: Caculitan (20) Maranon (22) – Duquilla (12) Rivera (20)
Total match time: 35 mins.
Women’s Singles 3: Hannah Tudtud (FEU) def. Jessie Francisco (UP) 2:1
With Francisco still in a celebratory mood over her team’s sure win, Tudtud would take a quick 2 – 8 lead early on. Francisco would score here and there, but it would seem like she was more intent in celebrating than in playing, as Tudtud would take the win, 16 – 21. The 2nd set saw Francisco exert more effort as she was able to take a small 9 – 6 lead over Tudtud. Tudtud would get the lead down to 1 at 10 – 9, but Francisco would counter with 6 consecutive points to give her a 16 – 9 lead. Tudtud would eventually tie the game at 20 apiece, but 2 straight points from Francisco would give her the win, 22 – 20. The final set would see Francisco take an early 9 – 6 lead, but Tudtud’s 7 straight points would give her the lead for good, 13 – 9. Down 13 – 19, Francisco would give a final push by scoring 4 straight points, but Tudtud would counter with 2 straight points that would seal the win for the FEU shuttler, 17 – 21.
Aggregate score: Francisco (55) Tudtud (62)
Total match time: 50 mins.
Total Games Won: UP 7 – FEU 3
