In a battle of last year’s finalists, former Most Valuable Players John Michael Castro and Alvin Sevilla carried four-time defending champion University of Santo Tomas to a 3-2 escape of Ateneo de Manila University to stay unbeaten in the UAAP Season 87 Collegiate Men’s Table Tennis Tournament at Hardcourt at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay on Wednesday.
After the pair of Zherdel Fresco and Wrency Abad sent the Blue Eagles to a 2-1 lead, Season 85 MVP Sevilla trounced Rod Garcia, 11-8, 11-6, 11-5 to force the decider.
Then Season 86 MVP Castro delivered the finisher, closing out Francisco de Asis, 11-5, 11-9, 11-5 to lift the Tiger Paddlers to a 4-0 record.
“Actually ‘yung game it shows na talagang ‘yung mga seniors namin, talagang buong-buo ‘yung loob at talagang sanay na sa laban,” said UST head coach Jackson Que of his fifth-year players Sevilla and Castro.
The Tiger Paddlers and the Blue Eagles entered their rematch in high spirits after opening the day with wins.
UST dominated De La Salle University, 3-0, while Ateneo did the same to University of the Philippines, 3-0.
The Green Paddlers, despite giving up their first loss, bounced back in the afternoon against the Fighting Maroons with a 3-1 win to improve their standings to 3-1.
Meanwhile, Far Eastern University finally earned their first win in its fourth try in the tournament supported by Akari, Topscoms Marketing, and Hua Ching Foundation after a 2-3 heartbreaking loss to Adamson University in the morning session, defeating UE, 3-1.
The Soaring Falcons completed a perfect day to improve to 2-2 after clobbering the Red Warriors, 3-0, and sending them to 0-4.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
In a rematch of last year’s Finals in the women’s division, reigning titlist La Salle edged out Ateneo, 3-2, but it was UST and FEU which continue to steal the show.
The Lady Paddlers and the Lady Tamaraws both sport 4-0 records with UST beating La Salle, 3-1, and Adamson, 3-0, while FEU defeated UP and UE – both via sweeps.
“To be honest, it’s payback time from last season kasi last year, namatayan ‘yung player ko na si Ciara Derecho so during the game against FEU (late in the second round) hindi nakalaro so natalo kami so I said babawi tayo this season and as much as possible, malakas o hindi, wala tayong ia-underestimate para mabawi natin,” said UST head coach Lori Wadjad.
“Naiaapply nila yung talagang tinraining namin, pinaghandaan namin kasi yung confidence nila mataas na kaya nagpeperform sila nang maganda,” shared FEU head coach Noel Gonzalez on the team’s performance.
Lady Green Paddler Kyla Bernaldez denied the Blue Eagles’ attempt of a reverse sweep, clipping Destine Jover, 11-5, 12-10, 13-11, to lift her side to a 2-2 record.
Adamson, despite losing to UST, still holds an even 2-2 record thanks to its 1-3 win over Ateneo earlier in the day.
The Lady Warriors got their first win of the tournament after a 3-1 victory over the Fighting Maroons, who slid to 0-4.
First round action continues tomorrow, still at The Hardcourt inside the Ayala Malls Manila Bay.
