THE UST Tiger Shuttlers kept their Final Four hopes alive after edging the DLSU Green Shuttlers, 3-2, in the UAAP Season 89 men’s badminton tournament at Gameville Central Park on Saturday, Oct. 24.
Coming off their first win of the season against Adamson, the Tiger Shuttlers secured their second straight victory to improve to a 2-3 win-loss record, tying La Salle in the standings and forcing a playoff for the fourth semifinal spot.
UST started their day with a win as Clark Brillantes drew first blood, sweeping DLSU’s Gift Linaban 21-15, 21-14 in the opening singles match.
Despite trailing at the first interval, 8-11, Brilliantes rallied to take the opening frame before overcoming a 13-14 deficit in the second set with eight unanswered points to seal the match.
However, La Salle’s Lovic Javier quickly leveled the overall tie after overpowering UST’s Aaron Bedaña, 21-11, 21-8, capitalizing on repeated net errors to dominate both frames.
In the first doubles match, UST’s Ron Galve and Bien Miraflor regained the advantage after outlasting DLSU’s Karl Contreras and Zaki Layno, 22-20, 21-15.
The UST duo erased an 11-7 deficit before surviving a 20-all deadlock in the opening frame, then carried their momentum into the second set with an early 5-0 run to seal the match.
WIth UST leading, 2-1, John Vincent Espinoza and Manuel Fulmentera clinched the overall victory after overcoming DLSU’s Rey Dalimo-os and AJ Jurada in three sets, 11-21, 21-16, 21-16.
After dropping the opening frame, the Tiger Shuttlers bounced back in the second set, establishing an 11-8 advantage at the interval before forcing a decider.
Espinoza and Fulmentera then surged to an 18-8 lead in the final frame before fending off La Salle’s late comeback to secure UST’s third match victory.
In the final singles match, UST’s Ivan Tuazon fell to DLSU’s Joshua Cuarte, 16-21, 15-21, with both sets ending on net errors by the Tiger Shuttler.
With UP securing the third semifinal seed, the Tiger Shuttlers will face the Green Shuttlers anew in a do-or-die playoff for the final Final Four spot on Sunday, Oct. 25, at the same venue. F
