Men’s Badminton drops first game; Lady Eagles continue their winning streak

The Ateneo Men’s Badminton team suffered their first loss in UAAP Season 74 on August 13, Saturday, at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall. They lost 2-3 to National University. The loss put them in a tie with DLSU and FEU with a 2-1 record.

Toby Gadi started off things for the Blue Eagles when he went up against Aries Delos Santos. Gadi finished the match in 2 games, 21-11, 21-12. Pawee Natividad dropped the second singles match, 16-21, 13-21, which allowed NU to tie the round at 1 match each.

In the first doubles match, Gadi teamed up with Justin Natividad to give Ateneo a match lead, winning over Delos Santos and Aried Babad, 21-16, 21-11. The second doubles match was the only match to go into three games. Paolo Sunga and Pawee Natividad were able to extend the match to a third game after losing the first and winning the second, 16-21, 21-15. But they weren’t able to capitalize on the momentum, losing the third game and the match, 16-21. NU tied the round at 2-all.

The final singles game, played by Justin Natividad, was the deciding match. Natividad put up a valiant fight in the first game but ultimately fell to Babad, 20-22, 15-21.

Meanwhile, the Women’s Badminton team had extended their winning streak to three games after they dominated their match against the Adamson University shuttlers, 5 matches to none.

Dia Magno opened the round with a win over Verna Belason, 21-11, 21-15. It was followed by another singles match win by freshman Gelita Castilo, 21-8, 21-9.

The doubles matches of the ladies ended in a similar fashion. Magno and Carla Lizardo finished their match in 15 minutes with a 21-6, 21-10 win over Diane Clado & Ana Palenzuela, while Castilo & Mikee Roxas were victorious with a 21-16, 21-10 win.

Despite leading the round 4-0, Ateneo decided to play the final singles match. Lisa Encarnacion dropped the first game, 15-21, but was able to recover in the second and third games, 21-7, 21-17, to give the Lady Eagles a sweep over Adamson.

The Blue Eagles will try to bounce back from their loss when they face the Far Eastern University on August 14 at 9 am. While the Lady Eagles will try to continue on their winning streak when they face De La Salle University at 1 pm. Badminton games are held at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall.