NU kickstarts title defense in men's badminton

c/o the UAAP

The quest for a seventh straight men's badminton title started off impressively for National University, as they dispatched Adamson on their tie, 4-1 to kickstart the UAAP Season 85 badminton tournament at the badminton courts of Centro Atletico on Saturday morning.

The Bulldogs clinched the tie after their first doubles matchup, as national team standouts Solomon Padiz Jr and Julius Villabrille defeated counterparts John Pedrosa and Mark Racelis, 21-6 21-7 in a duel that lasted nineteen minutes. It also extended their winning streak to 52 straight ever since they clinched the title back in Season 77.

NU had won the first two singles matches, with Lanz Zafra winning over Christian Lloyd Garcia, 21-11 21-7, followed by Mark Anthony Velasco's 21-7 21-6 result over Nathaniel Acedillo.

Padiz shared afterwards, "Kami po'y natutuwa kasi nag-continue na yung UAAP dahil three years din nag-stop yung UAAP," UAAP Season 82 Rookie of the Year and NU captain Padiz Jr. said. "Kami po, OK naman po (yung performance) kasi ang ano pa namin ay i-all out po yung mga game namin. Kasi nga Day 1 nga po, kailangan pong magamay po namin yung court, yung bola, lahat po, kasi yung three years po, kailangan din po naming mag-adjust."

The other ties saw the Katipunan schools dispatch their respective opponents with 4-1 victories.

Ateneo rode on double duty from Arthur Salvado and Lynden Laborte, as they won their two matches against the University of Santo Tomas.

The former won against Kyle Basilio in the opening singles, 21-13 21-16, whilst the latter defeated Francis Sarmiento, 21-8 21-9. They teamed to clinch the tie with a 21-16 21-15 triumph over Jacob Galve and Janzen Panisales.

The University of the Philippines mastered their matchup against La Salle thanks to a push from debutant Jelo Albo, as the national team standout won both of his matches.

The Maroon started with a 21-10 21-15 win over James Estrada in singles before joining forces with fellow national team member Jason Vanzuela in a 21-14 21-16 performance over Joshua Morada and Eliee Gavile.

With the weather conditions intensifying due to the Typhoon Paeng's presence in the country, the league postponed start of the women's division slated in the afternoon.