Despite the early 2 sets to none lead of the FEU Tamaraws, led by Men’s single players Rafael Dionisio Jr. and Josh Maquelabit, the UE Red Warriors were able to take both Men’s Doubles game and the final singles game to win their UAAP Season 77 debut.
Men’s Singles 1: Rafael Dionisio Jr. (FEU) def. Ramon Lorenzo Guerrero (UE) 2-1
FEU 1 – 0 UE
The match between Rafael Dionisio and Ramon Guerrero was a close affair with Dionisio taking the first set with a score of 21 to 17. Ramon Guerrero would then bounce back on the second set to tie the game with the score of 21 to 17. On the deciding set, Rafael Dionisio would start the set hot by scoring 5 of the first 6 points of the final set and 9 of the first 14. Guerrero would then bounce back to keep the game close and decreasing Dionisio’s lead to 1, 12-13. Dionisio would then make a final rally to win the final set 21-16.
Aggregate score: Dionisio 59 – 54 Guerrero
Total match time: 45 mins.
Men’s Singles 2: Josh Mark Maquelabit (FEU) def. Arman Manlalangit (UE) 2-1
FEU 2 – 0 UE
Arman Manlalangit of the UE Red Warriors and Josh Maquelabit of FEU would have a close first set in this match. Manlalangit was at match point, with the score at 20-18, before Maquelabit would tie the game at 20. Manlalangit would take the set scoring 3 out of the last 4 points of the set. Manlalangit was clearly fatigued at the start of the second set as he would just score 11 points on the second set. This included a furious a furious 9 point run by Maquelabit to close the set 21-11. Getting his second wind, Manlalangit would take a 7-6 lead against Maquelabit before succumbing to Maquelabit during the final set. Maquelabit wins the final set 21 – 17.
Aggregate score: Maquelabit 63 – Manlalangit 51
Total match time: 50 mins.
Men’s Doubles 1: Michael Bote and Benjamin Silva (UE) def. Vince Vaslee Lagnada and Joel Christian Mendez (FEU) 2-1
FEU 2 – 1 UE
The first set saw the Red Warriors team of Bote and Silva take an early 5 to 2 lead against their rivals. Bote and Silva would not look back as they never lost the lead at any point of the set. Bote and Silva won the set 21 – 17. Looking to perform an encore performance in the seconds set, Bote and Silva stormed to another 5 – 2 lead over the team of Lagnada and Mendez. The Tamaraws’ side would bounce back tying the game at 8 before taking the lead for the rest of the set. Lagnada and Mendez would tie the match with a 21 – 16 lead. In the 3rd set, Bote and Silva dominated their rivals by soundly defeating the duo of Lagnada and Silva 21-14.
Aggregate score: Lagnada (23) & Mendez (19) 52 – 58 Bote (30) & Silva (28)
Total match time: 40 mins.
Men’s Doubles 2: John Kenneth Cruz and Arman Manlalangit (UE) def. Rafael Dionisio Jr. and Josh Mark Maquelabit (FEU), 2-0
Feu 2 – 2 UE
This would be the second game for FEU’s Rafael Dionisio and Josh Maquelabit for today as they were looking to repeat their singles wins in a doubles setting. It was not meant to be however, as the tandem of John Kenneth Cruz and Arman Manlalangit. This was also Manlalangit’s second game for today as he avenged his singles loss to Maquelabit.
The first set was a close affair with the FEU tandem leading the match early on 9 to 6. The duo from UE would keep the match close until finally breaking-away, Manlalangit scoring the set’s last 4 points, to take the first set. John Kenneth Cruz and Manlalangit started slow in the 2nd set but would then turn the tides against their opponents. After a close 7-6 started, with UE leading, Cruz and Manlalangit would run away with the set and the match with a set score of 21-15 to tie the game at 2.
Aggregate Score: Dionisio (18) and Maquelabit (14) 32 – 42 Cruz (16) and Manlalangit (26)
Total match time: 30 mins.
Men’s Singles 3: Lorenz Gatpolintan (UE) def. Vince Lagnada (FEU) 2-0
FEU 2 – 3 UE (UE WINS)
With the game on the line, and the series tied, Lorenz Gatpolintan displayed a masterful performance against FEU’s Vince Lagnada to take the game away from their archrivals. Gatpolintan displayed amazing artistry during the first set with a showcase of smashes and drops to win the first set with an imposing score of 21 to 10. Vince Lagnada would not give-up easily though as the second set was a close nail-biter. With the crowd from both sides cheering on their bets and jeering on the other side, both competitors displayed amazing heart going point-for-point throughout the set. Lagnada was at match point with a 20-18 lead against Gatpolintan before the Red Warrior would unleash a final fury scoring 4 straight points to win the series for his school.
Aggregate Score: Lagnada 30 – 43 Gatpolintan
Total match time: 25 mins.
Aggregate sets won: UE 10, FEU 5
