The UP Women’s Badminton Team has dethroned the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU) Lady Shuttlers with a 3-1 victory at the University Athletics Association of the Philippines (UAAP) Season 87 Women’s Badminton Tournament Finals.
Held on Oct. 30 at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall in Manila, the UP Women’s Badminton Team brought UP its first gold medal this UAAP season.
The five-match final began with a heart-pumping 97-minute first singles match, where UP’s Susmita Ramos succumbed to ADMU’s reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) Mika De Guzman, 21-18, 8-21, 21-23.
The second singles match saw eventual MVP Anthea Gonzalez of UP convincingly stopping the five-peat bid of ADMU with an overwhelming win over ADMU’s Maxene Olango, 21-5, 21-7.
Leveled at one match each, UP’s Ramos and Dianne Libaton rose to the challenge of retrieving the crown by fending off De Guzman and Althea Ocampo in two sets, 21-13, 21-19, setting up the clinching match for the Lady Maroons Shuttlers.
Gonzalez and Kimberly Lao thwarted efforts of Lady Eagles Shuttlers Olango and Feeby Ferrer to level the finals by winning a nail-biting match, 21-19, 21-19, and ultimately winning the gold for the UP Women’s Badminton Team, UP’s 10th women’s badminton championship in the UAAP.
The Lady Maroons Shuttlers’ last win was during their three-peat run from Season 77 (Academic Year / AY 2014-2015) to Season 79 (AY 2016-2017).
“Lahat kami nag-sacrifice para makamit itong kampeonato na ito. Lahat sila binigay iyong puso para makuha nila itong championship na ito, kasi matagal na nilang hindi nakukuha. Lahat nag-work hard para rito, kaya siguro ito iyong reward sa kanila,” said first-year UP Women’s Badminton Team’s head coach Ariel Magnaye. Magnaye was a champion player for the University of Santo Tomas and the National University.
For their part, the UP Men’s Badminton Team notched a second runner-up finish with a commanding win over the UST Growling Tigers Shuttlers, three matches to nil. Aside from Gonzalez’s individual award, UP’s Shan Clar was named the Men’s Badminton Rookie of the Year.—With a report from the UAAP Media Team