UST TABLE Tennis head coach Henberd Ortalla has a simple dogma for his wards: master the skills of handling the opponent’s services and returning the ball with proper timing on defense.
The result: the Lady Paddlers swept their second-round assignments on their way to their second straight title by drubbing perennial rival, Far Eastern University (FEU), 3-2 and 3-1, in singles action and 3-2 in doubles action last October.
Earlier, all seemed well as UST thrashed its first five opponents in the first round, until suffering a stinging 2-3 loss to the FEU Lady Paddlers, its only loss in the first round. FEU was trying to end its 27-year championship drought.
“They (Lady Paddlers) were simply not performing what we did in practice,” Ortalla told the Varsitarian. “They failed to hit the opponents’ plays due to laxity and that is very disappointing.”
Realizing his team needed to reverse the tide, Ortalla gathered his wards and reminded them that offense should be done with defense to win the championship.
“They responded well with improved blocking and placing,” Ortalla said. “And the result spoke for itself.”
Same old, brand new
Playing with experience coupled with youthful energy proved to be the perfect combination that spelled a successful UST title-retention bid.
After a one-year hiatus due to academic deficiencies, UAAP Season 69 MVP Jaymee Yanga made a sterling comeback to erase the stigma of her bridesmaid finish two years ago.
Using a deceptive service (putting a spin on the ball so that opponents could not anticipate whether the ball would go on the same or opposite direction), Yanga shut out all her opponents and capped the run with 3-2 win in the finals of singles action. A recipient of a gold medal in the Palarong Pambansa before joining UST, Yanga, a Nutrition and Dietetics major, is now on her fourth year in the UAAP.
Cassandra Bazar, sister of UST mainstay Cecille, also made an impact in her maiden UAAP season. She played a key role in UST”™s title run with her mature game, earning an impressive 13-1 win-loss record. The younger Bazar also has a Palarong Pambansa gold medal.
Meanwhile, Season 68 MVP Princess Paña, along with partner Je-Ann Vidad, picked up where they left off to bag their second gold in three years in doubles action with a 3-2 victory over FEU.
Like Yanga, Asian Studies major Paña also placed second two years ago and is now on her fourth year as a Lady Paddler. Vidad, on the other hand, has been a stalwart UST Paddler in the past five years, winning four gold medals, all in doubles action. Her lone silver medal finish was in 2004 where the Lady Paddlers played bridesmaids to De La Salle University.
