By Ricky Manliguis
MANILA—National University and University of the Philippines will
gun for an improbable four-peat in their respective divisions as the badminton
competitions of UAAP Season 80 goes underway beginning Sept 21 at the Rizal
Memorial Badminton Halls.
The Bulldogs will begin its campaign for four in the men’s
division against last year’s third placers UP Fighting Maroons on Saturday, Sept.
23, while the Lady Maroons starts its quest for their own four-peat on the same
day opposite third-ranked De La Salle.
Behind tournament MVP Ros Pedrosa and sophomore Keean
Gabuelo , the boys from Jhocson Street swept the competition with a 27-0 record
including a 3-0 thrashing of Ateneo in the finals for its third consecutive
championship.
On the other hand, the Lady Maroons cemented its status as
the best women’s team by collaring its 9th over-all title in the tournament
with a 3-1 romp over Ateneo in the championship game. Women’s MVP Poca Alcala led the charge for the
Katipunan-based shuttlers.
Three men’s and three women’s matches will banner opening
day of the tournament. In the morning matches, Season 79 runner-ups Ateneo take
on Adamson on Court 1, UE taking on UP at Court 2, while UST exchange smashes
with La Salle at Court 3.
On the distaff side in the afternoon, Ateneo faces UE on Court
1, Adamson taking on La Salle at Court 2, and UST tackles NU on Court 3.
Far Eastern University, this year’s hosts, will not be
fielding a badminton team this season.
The seven participating teams will battle in a single
round-robin format with the top 4 teams with the best record qualifying for the Final Four. The
winners of the Final Four will advance into the one-game Final, while the
losers battle for third place.
In case a team sweeps the elimination round, the
step-ladder playoff format will apply with the team sweeping entering
automatically to the finals.
All games are scheduled every Wednesdays and Saturdays with
the elimination round games ending on Oct 5.
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