University of the Philippines (UP) captured their first win of the UAAP Season 78 Men’s Badminton Tournament in style, sweeping Far Eastern University (FEU), 5-0, Sunday morning at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall.
UP Team Captain Jon Masongsong kicked off the day with a win in the first singles over Joshua Bernardo in straight games. Masongsong rose to the early lead in the first game, but it was Bernardo who took led going into the break. From there, UP strung a bunch of scoring runs while limiting FEU to single points to take the game, 21–17. In the second game, the Fighting Maroon pulled away in the middle portion and put the match out of reach. Masongsong closed the match with an emphatic 8–0 run to snatch the game and the match, 21–8.
In the second singles, Miggy Leonardo doubled the lead for UP after dispatching Josh Maquelabit, also in two games. The Tamaraw senior scored five unanswered points to lead, 9–5, before Leonardo pushed the match in the interval. UP then took control of the game and finished it off, 21–16. Picking up from his momentum, Leonardo scored five straight to go within two of winning the match, 19–9. Maquelabit fought hard to cut the deficit to 5, before UP closed the game out, 21–14.
The doubles tandem of Joaquin Deato and CK Clemente clinched the maiden victory for the Fighting Maroons as they upended Jade Sarmiento and Vince Lagnada in straight games. After a close start, Deato and Clemente pulled away after the break and broke away, 21–13. In the following frame, the FEU duo kept it close by forcing a tie at 17-all. UP then unleashed four straight points to clinch the game, the match, and the tie, 21–17.
Roberto Pineda and Vinci Manuel joined the party and plucked their first victory of the tournament in the second doubles over Josh Maquelabit and Rafael Dionisio. The Maroons tandem took the first game into the interval, 11–7. FEU continued to fight toe-to-toe against Pineda and Manuel after the break, but the latter pair pulled through to get the first game, 21–18. UP carried their good play into the second frame, pulled away, and rolled on to win the match, 21–13.
Jojo Malelang completed the UP sweep in the final singles match over Jacob Tercias in straight games as well. The fourth-year veteran bucked a tight battle at the early goings of the first game to pull off the win, 21–17. Malelang broke another 17–all stalemate to finish the match. In the following canto, both Malelang and Tercias tugged for momentum as they exchanged scoring runs. In the end, UP took that one last point to seal the deal, 21–19.
With the win, UP now has a record of 1-1, and will face UAAP Season 77 Champions NU Bulldogs on September 23. FEU on the other hand will go against the UST Golden Shuttlers.
