La Salle nabs UAAP table tennis titles

La Salle dominated the ping pong tables at the Blue Eagle Gym, as the Green Paddlers and the Lady Paddlers snapped up the UAAP Season 77 titles for both men and women.

The Green Paddlers, led by MVP Jerald Cristobal, made it back-to-back in men's table tennis, capping off an undefeated season with a 3-0 sweep of the University of the Philippines in both finals games.


The Lady Paddlers, behind two-time MVP Ian Lariba, secured its third title in UAAP history by defeating UP, 3-1 in Game 2. La Salle avenges their shock defeat to the Lady Paddlers from Diliman in the finals last year, after they had swept the eliminations in Season 76.

Lariba clinched the title with a 16-14, 11-3, 11-3 victory over Nishino Noriko. Afterwards, she acknowledged it as her sweetest victory, as they hurdled a lot of obstacles in winning the championship.

In addition, Vladimir Rarama of Adamson and Josephine Talay of FEU were named as the Rookie of the Year for both divisions.

UAAP Season 77 Table Tennis kicks off Saturday

The Blue Eagle Gym will serve as the host for the table tennis tournament for UAAP Season 77, which is set to open later today.

La Salle ended its 14-year title drought in the men's division last season with a sweep over FEU, with the Green Paddlers opening its title defense against UE at 9am, followed by matches against NU at 2pm and UST at 4pm.

According to team skipper Jerald Cristobal, UST is the main threat against a repeat, as the Tiger Paddlers will welcome back a couple of players from ineligibility last season. He also cited FEU, UE and Adamson as the other teams to watch out for. Cristobal also shared that the school started off their preparations last February, adding that he hopes that "the expectations wouldn't negatively get into their heads."

The University of the Philippines will open its title defense in the women's division against UST at 2pm and NU at 4pm. Last season, they were the first seniors squad in all sports to overcome the "thrice-to-beat" disadvantage in UAAP Finals, beating La Salle in three straight games.

Season 75 champions La Salle are hungry for a bounce back as they attempt to reclaim the title they believe should have been theirs.

Team skipper Ian Lariba says that the goal this season is to "recover the championship." She adds that they learned the lesson of momentum last year, noting that they "cannot afford to slow down," and that they have to "strive to get better so we could play at an optimal level."

Aside from UP and La Salle, FEU and UST loom as possible contenders, with both schools having players coming off redshirt seasons.

Meanwhile, UE begins its title defense in the juniors division, going up against UST at 2 p.m. and Adamson University at 4 p.m. They also overcame a thrice-to-beat disadvantage in the finals last season, sweeping National University for the championship.

The Junior Warriors also wiped out the Bullpups' thrice-to-beat edge by completing a 3-0 Finals sweep last season.