MANILA — National University (NU) and University of the East (UE) punched their tickets to the UAAP Season 88 men’s tennis semifinals Sunday with commanding performances at Colegio San Agustin in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.
NU shut out Adamson University 5-0, while UE outplayed De La Salle University 4-1. They join University of the Philippines (UP), which remained undefeated atop the leaderboard, and University of Santo Tomas (UST) in the Final Four.
UP leads the standings at 8-1 following its 5-0 sweep of Ateneo de Manila University. NU and UST are tied for second at 7-2, with UE trailing at 6-3.
“Our goal is a top-two finish for the twice-to-beat edge, and our players are motivated after the tough loss to UST,” said NU coach Bobby Esquivel.
NU lost to UST 3-2 on Saturday but responded with dominant wins Sunday. Isaac Lim defeated John Kenneth Jumamoy 6-0, 6-3; Alex Acabo beat Vinz Bering 6-0, 6-1; Andrei Padao overcame Neo Maratas 6-1, 6-2; doubles pair Angil Balaoing and Christian Padilla won 6-2, 6-2; and Jules Lazaro and Miguel Vicencio secured the final point 6-2, 3-6, 10-7. The Bulldogs are now in the Final Four for the fifth year running.
UE, making its fourth straight semifinal appearance, was equally impressive. Marc Suson said, “We knew we had to be aggressive to win.” He defeated JT Bernardo 6-4, 6-2. JB Aguilar blanked Rupert Tortal 6-0, 6-0, and Gerald Gemida outplayed Yassan Al-Anazi 6-1, 6-1, giving UE a 3-0 lead. Although La Salle took a doubles match, UE’s Allyson Cabanilla and Kent Morales clinched the victory with a 7-6(5), 1-6, 10-5 win over EJ Geluz and Daniel Estanislao.
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