UAAP Season 86 finalists Ateneo de Manila University and National University secured the first two spots in this season’s Men’s Badminton Tournament Final Four, both achieving dominant 5-0 sweeps on Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall in Manila.
The Blue Eagles maintained their pristine record, boasting a perfect 15-0 in matches and an unbeaten 3-0 in the season, after dispatching the University of Santo Tomas Golden Shuttlers.
Last year’s Rookie of the Year, Lance Vargas, excelled in his two assignments, contributing significantly to the team’s success.
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs also cruised to a similar rout against Adamson University, clinching one of the four semifinal tickets.
Season 85 MVP Solomon Padiz Jr. bounced back impressively after suffering a loss in the previous tie.
Vargas teamed up with senior and Season 86 co-MVP Arthur Salvado Jr. to dominate Janzen Panisales and Ron Jacob Galve, winning 21-10, 21-11.
This marked the squad’s eighth straight win, dating back to last season.
Vargas kicked off the sweep for Ateneo, defeating Lennox Cuilao with a score of 21-14, 21-18.
“Solid performance from the team, but we can’t be complacent kasi at this point it gets harder every day. So, we are just reminding the boys of our goal, and we hope to pull through every game,” said Ateneo assistant coach Roy Callanta.
With the pressure of making the semifinals lifted, the Blue Eagles now face tougher challenges ahead against the NU Bulldogs and the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons on Saturday and the following Sunday, respectively.
“We’ll take it one game at a time talaga. Every team tie, every match, and every set, we’ll try to break it down para hindi overwhelming. And we’ll just tell the boys to bring out their best every game,” Callanta added.
Reigning MVP Lyrden Laborte also had a perfect day, going two-for-two, defeating rookie John Vincent Espinoza in the second singles rubber, 21-7, 21-9, and teaming up with Charles Bagasbas to secure a 21-15, 21-18 victory against Bien Miraflor and Lennox Cuilao in the second doubles match.
Salvado completed the sweep with a convincing 21-7, 21-14 win over fellow senior Francis Sarmiento in the final singles match.
Padiz Jr. helped the Bulldogs achieve their third consecutive win, partnering with Jeno Cariño to deliver a 21-7, 21-14 thrashing of Soaring Falcons Gabriel Ganoy and Matt Leda.
This performance came after James Villarante, the Season 82 Rookie of the Year, suffered his first loss of the tournament last Sunday, falling to UP’s Enzo Rivera and Mark Anthony Bernal in a closely contested match (22-20, 11-21, 21-23).
Lanz Zafra and Mark Anthony Velasco set the stage for Padiz and Cariño with dominant wins in the first two singles matches. Zafra breezed past Heaven Linaban, 21-4, 21-12, while Velasco needed less than half an hour to defeat Kyrie Roldan, 21-12, 21-5.
Nestojan Tapales and John Benedict Gam made a strong debut as a pair, winning 21-15, 21-9 against Julius Fontanilla and Noel Hernandez. MJ Perez rounded out the day with a 21-18, 21-16 victory over Nathan Acedillo.
On the other hand, UP bounced back from their previous setback with a 3-2 win over De La Salle University.
Rookie Shan Clar clinched the deciding third singles match, defeating senior Jason Pajarillo 21-13, 21-13.
The Fighting Maroons found themselves needing to fend off the Green Shuttlers twice during the tie after going up 1-0 and 2-1, with Jelo Albo and the duo of Rivera and Bernal putting the Diliman-based side in the lead.
Albo, the Season 85 Rookie of the Year, secured a victory over Miguel Cuarte in the opening singles match, winning 21-13, 21-6.
Rivera and Bernal outlasted Yuan Tan and Joshua Morada in a pivotal second doubles match, edging them 24-22, 22-20 after a grueling 50 minutes.
DLSU, seeking their first victory of the season, responded with wins from James Capin and the tandem of Cuarte and Zaki Layno.
Capin defeated fellow second-year upstart Johann Abinales, 21-13, 21-11, while Cuarte and Layno overcame Albo and Joshua Martinez, 21-14, 21-18, setting up a deciding match that ultimately went UP’s way.
With a 2-1 record, UP hopes to join Ateneo and NU in the Final Four.
However, they will face the reigning champion Blue Eagles on Saturday at 8 a.m. for a shot at a semifinal berth.
Meanwhile, NU aims for their fourth straight victory against UST (1-2), while DLSU and Adamson will battle for their first win of the season in the other simultaneous team ties at the same Malate venue.
