National U, FEU target badminton elims sweep

MANILA—National University and Far Eastern University look to sweep the seven-game men’s and women’s eliminations of UAAP Season 74 badminton tournament this Sunday at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall.

NU hopes to wield the broom when it meets the De La Salle Green Archers at 9 a.m., while the Lady Tamaraws take on the Lady Archers in the 1 p.m. tie.

NU shut out University of the East (5-0) last weekend to move a win shy of the sweep even as Ateneo completed the Final Four cast with a similar 5-0 blanking of University of the Philippines the last time out.

Adamson also made its presence felt by dashing University of Santo Tomas’s (UST) hopes of retaining the crown with a 3-2 victory.

With the Bulldogs (6-0) and the Blue Eagles (4-2) in the Final Four scheduled for September 10 are the Green Archers  (5-1) and Tamaraws (4-2).

The Green Archers routed the Tamaraws, 4-1, in their tie last weekend. The Growling Tigers, on the other hand, sorely missed Season 73 Most Valuable Player Peter Magnaye and with a 2-4 card saw their title-retention bid go down the drain.

The Lady Tamaraws disposed of the Lady Bulldogs, 5-0, to go 6-0 won-lost and found themselves in the company of the Lady Eagles and Lady Archers in the Final Four.

Ateneo and De La Salle formalized their entry into the semifinals with a 3-2 victory over UST and 4-1 rout of UP, respectively, in their last ties also last weekend. Ateneo and De La Salle each tote 5-1 cards.

But the fourth slot in the women’s Final Four has yet to be decided this Sunday with UE gaining some ground after its 5-0 shutout of Adamson last weekend.