THE UST Male Paddlers took a step closer toward a historic fourth consecutive table tennis title as they swept the first elimination round of the UAAP Season 68 Table Tennis tournament last Sept. 24-25 at the UST Gym.
UST disposed of the tough opposition on the first day, displaying its championship mettle against perennial contender De La Salle University (La Salle) in a tough 3-2 conquest. UST then trounced University of the Philippines (UP) and Far Eastern University (FEU) in 3-1 decisions, before sweeping Adamson University (Adamson).
The Paddlers met only token resistance from challengers in the second day as they scored impressive straight-set victories against Ateneo de Manila University (Ateneo), National University, and University of the East (UE) for an immaculate 7-0 card.
The Male Paddlers won 21 sets and lost only five to lead the competition with 14 points, while UP and La Salle settled for second and third with 11 points apiece.
Despite the departure of former UAAP MVPs Harold Baring and Celedonio Pisan, who both played out their UAAP years, head coach Henberd Ortalla said he expected UST to sweep the first round, fully confident on the skills of his veteran players most especially Dan Edward Lopez, who was unstoppable in six matches.
“Lopez stepped up his performance and played impressively,” Ortalla said.
If the Thomasian table smashers win the title in Season 68, Ortalla will join the short list of UST coaches, which includes Aric del Rosario (basketball) and Jojo Arce (judo), who steered their teams to four straight UAAP titles or more
On the distaff side, the Lady Paddlers settled for fifth place, toting a mediocre 3-3 win-loss record.
The departure of former MVP Jaymee Yanga, who was sidelined due to academic deficiencies, weakened the team’s Season 68 campaign. But Ortalla said the team’s lack of enthusiasm to win factored greatly in their performance.
“I was disappointed with their performance. I did not see them giving it their all during the matches,” Ortalla said.
The Lady Paddlers started the first day of competition strong, defeating FEU in four sets and proceeded to sweep UE.
The Espana-based squad’s hopes for a first day sweep ended after UP staged a tough comeback after being down by two sets.
UST recovered late in the second day, with a win against Adamson after losing against defending champion La Salle and Ateneo earlier.
The Lady Paddlers won 13 sets and lost 10 sets.
