ATONING for a bitter loss in the finals last season, the UST Tiger Paddlers relived championship glory via a dominant 12-0 sweep to finish the UAAP men’s table tennis tournament unscathed and bring the title back to España Boulevard.
“We [Tiger Paddlers] are really determined to bring back the crown which was lost last year. We also would like to thank the Thomasian community has given us,” head coach Henberd Ortalla said.
The black-and-gold army’s latest casualty was the University of the East (UE) Red Paddlers, who tasted a 3-0 manhandling last October 3, at the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagle Gym.
Team captain Michael Pana triggered unpredictable counterattacks to lead the conquest for UST, as he ravaged on UE’s Franz Mendoza, 11-3, 12-10, 7-11, 11-3, despite his opponent’s comebacking third set stunner.
Now on his third playing year for the Tiger Paddlers, Zoren Mendiola immediately followed suit after orchestrating a straight set sweep against Red Paddler Raymund Malay, 11-6, 11-6, 11-7, in the second singles match to give UST an easy 2-0 edge.
Season 73 MVP Christian Vicente and Rookie of the Year Adolfo Bazar, Jr. did not let triumph slip into their hands after shutting down the duo of Romiel Igno and Manuel Montes, Jr., 15-13, 11-7, 7-11, 11-3, in the doubles’ match.
But prior to the UE rout, UST scored a hard-earned victory against defending champion Far Eastern University, 3-0.
“We did not take FEU easily because the players were really strong in the first round,” Ortalla said. “[But in the second round] we adjusted our game play to theirs.”
UST’s Mendiola survived FEU’s Monarch Broqueza, in a five-set decision match 7-11, 12-10, 11-9, 6-11, 11-9.
Broqueza’s long shot misfire in the final set quickly handed the win for UST in their first singles match.
Meanwhile Martin Diaz repulsed Jhinno Selma for a trouble-free 3-0 victory, 11-8, 14-12, 11-7.
The Vicente-Bazar tandem also proved deadly as they took down Remy Dacut and Jayvee Cruz for a straight set beating, 11-5, 11-7, 11-6, as Vicente unleashed his deceptive smashes that struck FEU out of the championship tiff.
Prior to the two match ups, the Tiger Paddlers feasted on the National University, Ateneo and De La Salle University with a lopsided 3-0 win in the second round. But they faced tough opposition from the University of the Philippines, 3-1.
In the distaff side, the Lady Paddlers dropped to third place with a 7-3 win loss card, lurking behind the four-time champion FEU that ruled the tournament with an unblemished record while De La Salle wound up second.
VM Lupeba brought home the Rookie of the Year honors after her team blanked National University, 3-0, in the final game of the UAAP meet.
The Lady Paddlers struggled to cop a victory in the second round of eliminations, bowing down to FEU, 1-3. UST bounced back after essaying a hair-raising 3-2 win against De La Salle and shut down both Ateneo and UP via 3-0 match sweep. Angelo Nonato P. Cabrera and Rey Ian M. Cruz
