Susmita Ramos pulled off a stunning sweep in the deciding singles match to lead University of the Philippines to a 3-2 victory over National University in the UAAP Season 87 Women’s Badminton Tournament on Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall in Manila.
The third-year Fighting Maroon kept her composure during a second-game rally to deny Lady Bulldogs captain Sarah Barredo a comeback, finishing the match in 43 minutes, 21-11, 21-18.
With UP’s second straight win, they now share the top spot with defending four-time champion Ateneo, which also had to overcome a tough challenge from De La Salle University with a 5-0 sweep.
In another Sunday matchup, University of Santo Tomas secured their first victory of the season, defeating Adamson University 4-1.
“I think ‘yung pinakamaganda and most effective mindset is we want them to enjoy the game. the second is ‘nothing to lose and everything to gain.’ When you play in the UAAP, for each player, ang gusto lang naman nila is to play their game, to play their ultimate best. But pressure comes in, especially, the pressure of making people proud, but ang sinasabi namin sa players is unahin mo ‘yung sarili mo,” said Geva De Vera, a newly-installed assistant coach of UP.
“That mindset is important by the fact that these are collegiate players. In sports, mental preparation is everything. You could be a top player in the Philippines, when pressure sinks in, ‘yung mental capability mo pa rin na nag-fa-function effectively, ‘yung makikita ng mga tao,” the Season 82 co-MVP with Ateneo added.
That toughness was needed after the Fighting Maroons lost the 2-1 cushion built from wins of Althea Gonzalez in the first singles match and Ramos and Dianne Libation in the first doubles.
Gonzalez, the UAAP Season 85 Rookie of the Year, turned back Ysabel Amora, 21-17, 21-19 in another marathon, 52-minute battle. Rookie Libaton and Ramos, the squad’s co-captain, then fashioned out a 21-17, 21-18 victory past Barredo and Gwyneth Desacola.
Karyll Rio took the first win for the Lady Bulldogs with a 21-8, 21-9 clinical finish over Kharene Zapanta before Jeya Von Pinlac and Nica Songcuan forced the decider with a 21-14, 21-15 sweep of Kimberly Lao and Patricia De Dios.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Reigning three-time MVP Mika De Guzman and rookie Althea Dawn Ocampo endured a challenging 63-minute contest against Viana Antonio and Mia Manguilimotan, eventually winning 17-21, 21-11, 21-16 in the first doubles match, earning Ateneo their second consecutive win.
Meanwhile, Golden Shuttlers Patricia De Leon and Mariell Alvarez dominated Adamson’s Justin Barasona and Jennifer Ondol, 21-10, 21-14, to secure their first win of the season.
Before that, Ateneo captain De Guzman swept Ghiselle Bautista in just 36 minutes, 21-9, 21-14. However, the Blue Eagles were pushed to their limits in a series of tight matches against the Lady Green Shuttlers.
Angel Valle needed an hour and 13 minutes to defeat Lady Tuario in the second singles match, 21-12, 16-21, 23-21.
De Guzman and Ocampo then faced another intense match but managed to secure the tie.
Maxene Olango and Feeby Ferrer also endured a lengthy 66-minute battle, overcoming Jacqueline Pantoja and Bautista, 21-18, 17-21, 21-18.
Ocampo completed the sweep by defeating Manguilimotan, 21-19, 21-9, to wrap up the second day of eliminations after more than five hours of competition.
In the UST-Adamson matchup, both teams split the first two singles matches to start the day.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
De Leon swept Marriane Barcelona, 21-18, 21-16, for UST, while Key Fuerte claimed a 21-14, 21-15 victory over Angelina Vitangcol for Adamson.
Fuerte’s win was Adamson’s only victory of the day.
Jennifer Saladaga and Rhafi Santos cruised past Camille Buagas and Graziel Cabriga, 21-10, 21-16, while Reshane Nicor secured her debut win against Aleyha Villanueva, 21-11, 11-21, 21-10, to seal the tie for UST.
Ateneo and UP will look to extend their winning streaks to three when they face UST and Adamson, respectively, in their upcoming matches. Meanwhile, NU will aim to bounce back against DLSU.
All ties are scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall in Malate.
