Manila: Defending champion National University (NU) Bulldogs launched their UAAP Season 88 men's badminton campaign with a decisive 4-1 victory over Adamson University at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall in Malate.

According to Philippines News Agency, the Bulldogs leveraged their experienced players from last year's championship team to overpower the Falcons. Former national team standout James Villarante, in tandem with John Benedict Gam, secured a 21-14, 21-17 win against Adamson's Gabrielle Ganoy and Noel Hernandez Jr. Reigning MVP Lanz Zafra defeated Kyrik Roldan with scores of 21-8, 21-6, while MJ Perez emerged victorious against John Russel Oliveros, 21-19, 21-12, in the initial singles matches.

Zafra and Miko Mosarbas faced Oliveros and Nathan Acedillo, clinching a 21-13, 19-21, 21-8 win, which established a 4-0 lead for NU. Acedillo managed to prevent a complete sweep by surviving a match against rookie Ben Dictado, ending with scores of 21-18, 16-21, 21-19.

NU head coach Jaime Llanes expressed his expectations, noting, "I expected that those who have been playing for a long time, they would really perform. Even though I saw that they had a hard time adjusting. Actually, all of them, even other schools, had a hard time," he mentioned post-game. Llanes encouraged his team to adjust quickly, hoping they would perform better in their upcoming matches.

In other games, Ateneo de Manila University defeated De La Salle University with a 5-0 sweep, and the University of the Philippines (UP) overpowered the University of Santo Tomas (UST), 4-1. The next round of matches scheduled for Sunday will see NU face La Salle, Ateneo against UP, and Adamson against UST, with all matches commencing at 8 a.m.