University of Santo Tomas inched closer to achieving a third straight golden double as both its boys’ and girls’ squads secured spots in the UAAP Season 88 High School Table Tennis Tournament, Wednesday at the Amoranto Sports Arena in Diliman, Quezon City.
The Junior Tiger Paddlers extended their winning streak to 10 matches this season in dominant fashion, not dropping a single match.
Fourteen-year-old prodigy Joshua Bañas led the charge, setting the tone for the team’s impressive run, supported by Huaching Foundation and Topcoms Marketing Inc.
“Actually, I’m proud kasi simula pa lang pinakita na ng boys’ team natin na talagang solid and talagang malakas sila this season. Ang pinaka-goal kasi namin is makuha talaga ‘yung three-peat, so ‘yun ‘yung nagiging trigger na magpursige talaga; na makuha talaga ‘yung championship,” said UST head coach Jackson Que.
Bañas, who transferred from the Central Philippine Center, followed reigning MVP Jebb Datahan’s lead in the contest against University of the East with an 11-9, 11-8, 12-10 victory over Kian Sumadsad in the second singles match.
The rookie then kicked off the team’s sweep of Adamson University with a hard-fought 14-12, 13-11, 11-8 win over Sharif Abirin.
Abirin and the Baby Falcons closed the eliminations in second place with an 8-2 record, buoyed by a 3-1 win over De La Salle Santiago Zobel School and a 3-0 sweep of University of the Philippines Integrated School to offset their loss to UST.
UE (6-4) and DLSZ (4-6) completed the Final Four in the boys’ division and will meet in the first round of the stepladder playoffs.
The winner of that series will face Adamson for the right to challenge UST, the reigning back-to-back champions, in the best-of-three Finals.
(C) UAAP Season 88 Media Team
Meanwhile, the Junior Lady Paddlers kept their bid for a fourth straight title alive, advancing to the girls’ Finals via an unblemished 10-0 sweep.
Fourth-year senior Padmae Vivas led the charge for the Lorinda Wadjad-mentored squad.
Vivas, one of the designated openers for her team, set the tone with decisive victories over DLSZ and UE.
The 18-year-old standout defeated Junior Lady Green Paddler Sari Velasco, 11-3, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, and Junior Lady Warrior Nadima Baholoy, 11-5, 11-9, 11-9, sparking the team’s eventual wins.
“Masaya po kasi andito na naman po kami sa championship na naman. Nagpapasalamat lang din po ako kay Lord kasi hindi niya kami pinabayaan, and lahat po ng laro namin napanalo namin kasi nagtiwala po kami sa isa’t isa. Sobrang saya lang po and I’m really grateful and thankful,” said reigning MVP J-An Sanchez.
Baholoy and UE, finishing the round robin with an 8-2 record, will face the winner of the stepladder semifinal between DLSZ (6-4) and Adamson (4-6).
The survivor of that match will then challenge UST for the championship.
