NU, Ateneo forge finals matchup in Season 85 men's badminton

c/o UAAP

National University and Ateneo de Manila locked in their finals matchup in the UAAP Season 85 Men's Badminton tournament on Sunday morning at the courts of Centro Atletico in Quezon City, dispatching their respective opposition to remain undefeated.

The Bulldogs continued their march to a potential seventh-straight title, clinching their berth with a 4-1 victory over De La Salle.

Lanz Zafra and Mark Velasco started things off with victories in singles action, with the former taking a 21-7 21-12 victory over Bless Linaban and the latter over Jason Pajarillo, 21-8 21-9.

Julius Villabrille and Solomon Padiz Jr then showed their national team pedigree, teaming up in doubles to clinch the tie against Joshua Morada and Pete Abellana, 21-15 21-9.

Ateneo then formalized the finals matchup by eking out a 3-2 victory over the University of the Philippines.

The Fighting Maroons rode on Jelo Albo early on, as he was responsible for both wins in their tie. Albo defeated Bryan Bernardo, 21-10 21-4 in the opening singles match, then teamed up with Jason Vanzuela for a 21-17 21-16 triumph over Arthur Salvado and Lyrden Laborte.

The Blue Eagles were ready for the challenge, responding to each defeat with equalizers, capped off by a 21-13 19-21 21-12 decision from Bernardo and Charles Bagasbas over Wileyto Yray and Charles Alcarpio.

Salvado would clinch things with a 21-15 21-9 victory over Enzo Rivera in the deciding match. The team captain shared afterwards, "The team's performance was a little bit shaky because of the pressure of NU's streak. And our chances of making the Finals also boiled down to this tie. Fortunately, I was able to handle the pressure in the third singles and the stress of the 2-2 standing."

Meanwhile, the University of Santo Tomas boosted their podium hopes by sweeping Adamson, 5-0, Janzen Panisales and RJ Galve clinched the tie with a 21-8 21-12 victory over CL Garcia and Harold Bonilla.

The final set of ties in the eliminations will take place on Saturday morning, with NU and Ateneo, as well as UST and UP tangling in their respective postseason previews. DLSU and Adamson, on the other hand, is seeking a positive conclusion to their stint.