Manila: Defending champion National University (NU) secured a spot in the semifinal round of the UAAP Season 88 men's badminton tournament after defeating the University of the Philippines (UP) 4-1 at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall in Malate, Manila.
According to Philippines News Agency, MJ Perez initiated the victory for NU by winning the first singles match against Shan Clar with scores of 20-22, 21-12, 22-20. However, UP managed to equalize when Kervin Llanes triumphed over Miko Mosarbas, 21-11, 21-16, in the second singles match. Perez then teamed up with Lanz Zafra to clinch a 21-13, 21-17 victory over Mark Bernal and Arjay Philip Lazareto. The duo of John Benedict Gam and James Villarante secured another win for NU by defeating Jelo Albo and Kian Cruz, 21-17, 21-14, and Zafra sealed the victory by overcoming JM Estrada, 21-10, 21-14.
Ateneo de Manila also advanced to the next round after a sweeping 5-0 victory against the University of Santo Tomas. Jamal Pandi, a participant in the World Junior Championships, and Lyrden Laborte defeated Ron Galve and Bien Miraflor, 21-14, 21-13. Lance Vargas, the Season 85 Rookie of the Year, secured a win over Lennox Cuilao, 21-16, 21-16, while Robbie Ramos bested JM Sison, 21-10, 21-13. Arthur Salvado Jr. and Vargas emerged victorious against John Vincent Espinoza and Janzen Panisales, 21-13, 16-21, 21-11, and Laborte concluded the match by defeating Angelo Tuazon, 21-10, 21-17.
Both NU and Ateneo maintain a perfect 4-0 record and are set to compete against each other on Saturday at 8 a.m. 'I think everyone came in prepared; they are very focused this time, and they really want it. They're really focused on playing one tie at a time,' NU's longtime head coach, Kennie Asuncion-Robles, remarked. She expressed hope for continued improvement, stating, 'I hope they can play even better than they've shown. That's what we want - concentrate on playing it right, playing it well, then there is a bigger chance of getting to the goal.'
In another closely contested match, Adamson University enhanced its semifinal prospects with a narrow 3-2 victory over De La Salle University. Nathaniel Acedillo's win against Gift Linaban, 21-18, 21-15, was pivotal for the Falcons. John Russel Oliveros initially gave Adamson the lead by defeating Lovic Javier, 22-20, 8-21, 21-18, but Miguel Cuarte's victory over John Paul Badang, 21-12, 21-5, leveled the score. Acedillo and Oliveros then regained the lead for Adamson by overcoming Joshua Morada and Yuan Tan, 21-17, 9-21, 21-13, before Cuarte and Zaki Layno equalized the score again by defeating Noel Hernandez Jr. and Gabriell Ganoy, 21-9, 21-17.
Adamson achieved its first victory since Season 82, when they defeated the University of the East Red Warriors, 3-2, on September 28, 2019. Adamson is set to face UP, while UST will compete against La Salle on Saturday to determine the remaining semifinalists.
