Wild race to UAAP Badminton postseason ends Saturday
With defending champions National University and University of the Philippines clinching the twice-to-beat advantages in the men’s and women’s badminton tournaments, respectively, it is a tight race towards the second twice-to-beat incentive and even the other semifinals slot with the qualifying rounds ending on Saturday at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall.
Simply put, a win by NU men’s and UP women’s will send us to another stepladder postseason format. The two reigning titlists will automatically go into the Finals, and by current UAAP rules, without a thrice-to-beat edge. For the current season, all championship series will be best-of-three affairs regardless of the presence or absence of an elimination-round sweep.
Men’s Division
* NU 6-0
* UP 5-1
ADMU 4-2
DLSU 3-3
UST 3-3
FEU 2-4
If the UP Fighting Maroons win against University of the East on Saturday, they will clinch the other semifinal twice-to-beat bonus regardless whether NU sweeps or not. In the event NU takes care of Far Eastern University, this incentive will be for the Maroons’ battle in the second round of the stepladder. If FEU pulls an upset, UP and NU will battle for the top seed.
However, if UE mounts an upset and Ateneo de Manila University wins against University of Santo Tomas, UP and Ateneo will dispute the twice-to-beat edge in the semis over the loser. The Katipunan neighbors will figure in virtual best-of-three affair.
A win by both UST (over Ateneo) and De La Salle University against Adamson University, complicate things further. In this case, there will be triple-tie for third to fifth places. The one with superior quotient (usually match differential) gets the third seed and the two others dispute the other semifinals spot.
Nevertheless, if UST fails to upend Ateneo and DLSU wins, the Tigers are eliminated.
The FEU Tamaraws will only enter the tussle for the semifinals if it manages to stun the NU Bulldogs. If this happens, FEU also need both Ateneo and Adamson to win over UST and La Salle, respectively. If only one loss occurs, let us just say the Tamaraws ended the season on a huge, rousing note.
Women’s Division
* UP 6-0
* DLSU 5-1
ADMU 4-2
NU 3-3
UST 3-3
FEU 2-4
Similarly, in the distaff side, DLSU needs to win their tie against Adamson to clinch the other twice-to-beat advantage. Once more, if University of the East pulls of a shocker against the Lady Maroons, DLSU and UP will play for the #1 spot. If the defending champions sweep the qualifiers, DLSU will get this bonus for the stepladder postseason.
However, here is what makes it even more complicated.
If the Lady Green Shuttlers fall to Adamson and Ateneo wins against UST, the archrivals La Salle and Ateneo will again face each other for the semis bonus. It will consequently be a virtual best-of-three series for these two storied squads. A win by Ateneo, nonetheless, puts them in the semifinals.
With the scenario in the previous paragraph and if FEU pulls the rag off NU, there will be a triple-tie in the fourth spot among UST, NU, and FEU. The one with the best quotient waits for the winner of the one-off tie between the other two. The survivor of this mini-stepladder will go through the postseason.
For NU to avoid such complications, they must take care of FEU in their last assignment. With a win by Ateneo over UST, the Lady Bulldog can seal the first-ever UAAP Final Four appearance. A Tigress victory puts up two playoffs, for #2 and for #4, between Ateneo and La Salle, and UST and NU, respectively.
