State U table tennis aces book rare feat

UNIVERSITY of the Philippines captured the UAAP women’s table tennis crown after spoiling what could have been La Salle’s dream run.

The Lady Maroons overcame the thrice-to-beat advantage of the No. 1-seed Lady Archers,
3-2, in Game 3 of the Finals to become the first team in any sport to pull off the feat since the league introduced the win incentive in 2008.

In badminton, the Ateneo women’s team captured its second straight title behind rookie MVP Bianca Carlos before the men’s side led by MVP Patrick Natividad made it a two-division sweep for the Eagles yesterday.

The Lady Archers swept all 14 games in the table tennis eliminations to earn an outright Finals berth and the thrice-to-beat bonus, the incentive given for a perfect elimination record.

UP’s Lusha Maderal downed La Salle’s Marcelle Galera, 11-9, 12-10, 11-8, in the title-clinching match at Blue Eagle Gym as teammates Joma Sibal bagged the MVP and Nishino Noriko the top rookie award.

La Salle, though, made up for the heartbreaker by clinching its first men’s badminton crown in 13 years with a 2-0 sweep of Far Eastern University in the best-of-three finals.

MVP Walden Ledesma powered the Archers past the Tamaraws with similar 3-1 decisions in two games.

University of the East, similarly overcame the thrice-to-beat edge of National University in juniors action behind MVP Jomari Ingeniero.

The Lady Eagles, unbeaten in 18 games since last year, downed La Salle, 3-2, in the badminton finals to cap a perfect season.

Carlos and Dia Magno gave the Lady Eagles a 2-0 lead with singles triumphs, before Patricia Malibiran nailed the title-clincher over Angelic Ramos, 21-17, 14-21, 21-18 in the deciding singles.

The Blue Eagles dethroned National University with a 3-2 victory anchored on Natividad, Brian Garrido and Justin Natividad in men’s action.

Ateneo mentor Kennie Asuncion, the country’s former No. 1 women’s badminton player, also bagged the Coach of the Year award.