In recent years, the Adamson University women’s badminton team had beaten just one school, the University of the East.
However, all that changed on Saturday afternoon, as the ladies of San Marcelino pulled off a win against the struggling University of Santo Tomas Golden Shuttlers, 4-1, and took their first victory of the season.
Clydel Pada opened the rousing victory after sweeping UST super senior Sugar Vizmonte, 21-6, 21-13. The Adamsonian looked composed the whole match, letting her game dictate the pace, before finishing the rallies.
Jhay Anne Macabenta then put the squad on the cusp of the win. The second-year Lady Falcon took the second singles match in two 21-12 games over Angelic Panotes. The Tomasina performed better in this outing, but Macabenta was too focused to be dislodged.
Vizmonte and Elizabeth Pimentel took one back for the Tigresses after taking care of Pada and Mikaela Aquino in the first doubles match, 22-20, 21-11. The Golden Shuttlers used that huge steal of a first game to wallop the opponents in the following game.
Nonetheless, there was no denying the Falcons their first win of the season, and against a school other than UE.
A pair of youngsters hugged the spotlight for Adamson as Macabenta and Alyssa San Pedro swept Panotes and Evan Teope in two sets, 21-10, 21-18. The Golden Shuttlers tried to keep themselves up in the second game; nonetheless, the Falcons pulled of the finishing touches in the game, the match, and the tie.
For senior Aquino, it was just a matter of coming together. “Siguro mas naging buo lang yung team,” she shared. “Mas naging confident lang kami sa mga ginagawa namin sa training.”
The fifth-year player proved her own words after closing out the dat with a sweep of Pimentel at 21-19, 21-13, in the dead singles match.
The Lady Falcons (1-1) will face a familiar customer in the University of the East (0-2) on Sunday, September 24, at 1pm. On the other hand, the Golden Shuttlers (0-2) will try to pull off an even bigger upset when they face the defending champions University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons (1-0) on the same day and time.
