UAAP Season 78 might just be the year the University of Santo Tomas reclaims the UAAP Table Tennis Championship. The Growling Tigers almost swept the first elimination round 6-1, while the Lady Tigresses earned a 4-3 record, going to third in the standings.
Could this be the year for the Growling Tigers?
Arguably the biggest win of Growling Tigers’ season was already accomplished when they upset the defending champions De La Salle Green Archers 3-1 in their tie. UST won the first two singles matches with scores of 3-1, then DLSU came back to win the doubles match 2-3. The Growling Tigers then kept their composure to win the third singles match 3-0.
The Far Eastern University, Ateneo de Manila University, and University of the Philippines succumbed to 3-0 losses at the hands of UST. The University of the East Red Warriors managed to win a match, but still lost 3-1 against the Growling Tigers.
The only caveat of UST is the 0-3 loss against the National University Bulldogs. The Bulldogs defeated the Growling Tigers 2-3 and 1-3 in the first two singles matches, while the doubles match was a 0-3 win.
The UST Growling Tigers ended the first elimination round with a 6-1 record, but will they regret the off day against the NU Bulldogs come the second round?
Decent first round ending for the Lady Tigresses
A third place finish at the end of the first elimination round for the Lady Tigresses provided them with a solid foundation to build on in the second round.
The Lady Tigresses secured 3-0 wins at the expense of the Adamson University Lady Falcons and Ateneo Lady Eagles. One of their biggest wins of the season came against the UP Lady Maroons, when the former swept last season’s first runner-up 3-0 in their encounter.
The Lady Tigresses also defeated the UE Lady Warriors 3-1, with UE only winning the second singles match of the tie with a score of 1-3. UST won the other matches 3-2, 3-1 and 3-0.
The losses for the Lady Tigresses came against fellow contenders FEU Lady Tamaraws and DLSU Lady Archers, plus a surprise defeat at the hands of up and coming NU Lady Bulldogs.
The Lady Tamaraws breezed through the match against the Lady Tigresses to a 0-3 scoreline. On the other hand, two consecutive wins in the first singles matches propelled the Lady Archers to a 0-2 advantage only for the Lady Tigresses to answer back in the doubles match. The Lady Archers then held on in the third singles match to condemn the Lady Tigresses to a 1-3 loss.
NU’s Lady Bulldogs dealt a blow to the Lady Tigresses’ campaign with a shock 1-3 win. As in their loss against the Lady Archers, the Lady Tigresses lost the first two singles matches to the Lady Bulldogs only to recover in the doubles match. The Lady Bulldogs then came back in the third singles match to leave the Lady Tigresses with a respectable 4-3 record at the end of the first round.
