“The boys are hungrier. You can see it on our practice, in our pre-season tournaments. Who wouldn’t be coming from a disappointing season? I don’t even need to push them. I guess they are ready from some pay back.”
This is how De La Salle University men’s tennis team head coach Roland Kraut described his team going into the season.
And after a disappointing loss against their archrivals Ateneo de Manila University, the Green Archers vented their ire on the predominantly young University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons with a huge 4-1 bounce-back win, Wednesday at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
Third-year player and double silver medallist Joshua Cano started it off for the Maroons with a 6-2 win in the first set of the first singles match against Kyle Parpan.
On the other court, however, La Salle’s Jonah Cano and Qoqo Allian opened the first doubles match over a pair of UP newbies Mimo Tomacruz and Auden Paduganan, 6-2. Betto Orendain, on his part, outmuscle another Maroon rookie Vincent Alanis in the second doubles match at 6-3.
Orendain eventually closed out the feisty Alanis and put the Green Archers on the board first, 6-2.
Parpan and the duo of Tomacruz and Pagaduan forced a deciding set in their respective duels, even as Kyle Joseph and Elijah Arevalo took one back for UP. The latter Diliman-based tandem swept Gelo Cerezo and Hans Asistio, 6-0, 7-6.
Jonah Cano and Allian then put the next-door Archers in the lead, getting the third set at 6-2.
Back at court 1, Joshua Cano and Kyle Parpan figured in a tussle in the third set, just as Mikko Ringia edged out LA Cañizares blanked in the first set of the third singles match, 6-4.
After such impressive rallies, Parpan ended DLSU’s losing skid after snatching the win over Joshua Cano in the third-set tiebreak. Cañizares then closed out the rout, sweeping Ringia in the last two sets, 6-0, 6-3.
The Green Archers (1-1) will look to start a winning streak when they face the University of Santo Tomas Male Tennisters (1-1) on Saturday, February 25.
On the other hand, the Fighting Maroons (0-2) will try to snap their own skid as they enter Battle of Katipunan against the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles (1-1) that same day.
