THE ATENEO Blue Eagles finished their University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) season 85 campaign in second place after surrendering to the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Tiger Paddlers earlier today at Makati Coliseum. This memorable performance doubles as the Blue and Whites first foray into the Finals, as well as their first-ever UAAP podium finish.
First game
Andrew Uy started the Blue and Whites first singles bout of the day with outright losses to UST’s Alvin Sevilla, 3-11, 11-13, 8-11. While the Blue Eagle increased the second set with a more aggressive style of play, his efforts just failed to contain the Tiger Paddler.
Blue Eagle Mahendra Cabrido followed with a second singles loss to Eljey Tormis, 1-4. Although Cabrido was able to mount a set three comeback, 11-5, he struggled to win back the last two sets, handing UST the second team tie point.
Moving into the first deadlock in doubles, the main Ateneo tandem of Zherdel Fresco and Sean Uy showed the promise of victory, winning the first set against Tiger Paddlers Paul Garcia and Al J Sanchez, 13-11. Despite trailing the Thomasian duo in the remaining sets, 5-11, 10-12, 9-11, UST eventually managed to fend off Fresco and S. Uy.
Second game
Game 2 started soon after with a different lineup for Ateneo. Mahendra Cabrido opened the match for Blauw-Wit against UST’s Sevilla. The two athletes went back and forth during the match, with no one backing off. Cabrido was trailing after three sets, but an impressive win in the fourth set forced a decisive fifth set.
[First Singles]
Cabrido equalizes Ateneo and UST’s chances for the first team tie as he takes set four, 11-7.
Match score: Ateneo 2 UST 2#UAAPTableTennis @TheGUIDONSports pic.twitter.com/Zya7eVot1E
ā Juno Reyes (@Juno_TheGUIDON) November 26, 2022
In the last set, Cabrido went down 6-10 halfway through the game. Undeterred, Cabrido launched a 5-0 run to within inches of match point, 11-10. However, Sevilla finished the match strong, claiming the team scoreline ahead of UST, 12-14.
After a tense first game between Ateneo and UST, the second game was all in favor of the Tiger Paddlers. Wrency Abad showed courageous efforts throughout the battle, but UST’s Eljey Tormis won in three sets.
After this, Atenean rookie S. Uy and team captain Mark Parman would get ready for the doubles match. The Ateneo duo took on UST’s Garcia and Sanchez and fell in the first set, 5-11. Blauw-Wit tried to make a comeback in the second set, but fell short, 9-11.
With their season on the line, Ateneo staged a valiant comeback, but eventually faltered against UST in the third set, 8-11.
Assistant coach Mihali Crisostomo, who entered UAAP Season 85 with a roster made up almost entirely of rookies, expressed satisfaction with the season’s result. The team moved up from last place in Season 82.
This is years and years in the making. “I’m proud of the team and the way they played and came together,” said Crisostomo. Nobody really expected us to go this far, so I’m really happy with their performance. Although we wanted to win the championship, we were happy with how we performed and were ready to get back to work to prepare for next year.
Game 1 – Set Scores (Ateneo-UST): Ateneo – 0, UST – 3
First Men’s Singles (A. Uy vs. Sevilla): 3-11, 11-13, 8-11
Second Men’s Singles (Cabrido vs. Tormis): 8-11, 5-11, 11-5, 5-11
Men’s First Doubles (S. Uy and Fresco vs. Garcia and Sanchez): 13-11, 5-11, 10-12, 9-11
Game 2 – Set Scores (Ateneo-UST): Ateneo – 0, UST – 3
First Men’s Singles (Cabrido vs. Sevilla): 8-11, 11-8, 5-11, 11-7, 12-14
Second Men’s Singles (Abad vs. Tormis): 7-11, 7-11, 7-11
Men’s First Doubles (S. Uy and Parman vs. Garcia and Sanchez): 5-11, 9-11, 8-11