THE UST Paddlers bagged twin victories against the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles and the Adamson University Falcons in the UAAP Season 80 table tennis tournament at the UP College of Human Kinetics Gym in Diliman Thursday.
The Tiger Paddlers are tied at the top spot with National University both with 5-1 records while the Lady Paddlers remain undefeated in six games alongside defending champion De La Salle University.
The Tiger Paddlers repulsed the Falcons, 3-2, before sweeping Ateneo, 3-0.
Down 1-2, UST’s Paul Que evened the score after winning against Falcon Isaac Enera, 11-3, 11-8, 11-9.
Tiger Paddler Shen Tunay sealed the comeback with a convincing 12-1, 10-12, 11-8, 11-7, win against Wilfredo Enal.
“Confident naman din ‘yung players [kahit down kami ‘nung una] kasi si Paul Que, talagang lamang ‘dun sa kalaban natin so alam natin na aabot ng [dulo] ‘yun,” UST coach Jackson Que said.
Doubles’ player and veteran Rian Maldia, still recovering from a chemotherapy session last Monday, missed the game.
In women’s play, the Lady Paddlers escaped the Lady Eagles, 3-2, before blasting Adamson, 3-0.
Tied 2-all against Ateneo, UST’s Ara Perez dropped the hammer on Sharmae Ong, 11-3, 11-7, 11-7, as the Lady Paddlers stayed perfect.
The Kathleen Tempiatura-Rachel Parba tandem overpowered Adamson’s Alicia Chavez and Patricia Gomez, 11-6, 11-9, 11-7 to seal the sweep.
“So far naman sa magagaling [na kalaban], they played well. They followed instructions carefully so nanalo. Pero sa Ateneo, they made it a joke,” women’s team head coach Lorie Wadjad said.
Wadjad also stressed that her players’ overconfidence almost cost them the game against Ateneo.
“Naging overconfident sila tapos nag-kantiyawan pa kaya napagalitan ko. Sabi ko ‘undefeated tayo tapos matatalo pa tayo sa mahina, sayang effort natin,'” she said
Both teams will play against La Salle on Sept. 30, Saturday, 8 a.m., at the same venue. #
