UNIVERSITY of the Philippines men’s team nipped Ateneo, 3-2, to clinch a Final Four slot yesterday in the UAAP Season 80 badminton tournament.
The pairs of CK Clemente and JM Bernardo, and Betong Pineda and Paul Gonzales completed a sweep of doubles, while Bernardo provided the lone singles victory for the Fighting Maroons to improve at 4-1 at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall.
UP joined defending champion National University, a 4-1 winner over De La Salle, in the Final Four.
The Bulldogs stretched their perfect run to five and moved within a win of securing an outright championship berth.
NU shoots for the slot in the best-of-three Finals against also-ran University of the East in the final day of eliminations at 8 a.m. on Thursday at the same Malate venue.
The Blue Eagles and the Green Archers dropped to 3-2 card in joint third.
University of Santo Tomas, meanwhile, keep its semifinals hopes alive with a 5-0 shutout win over Adamson University for a 2-3 card, stalling Ateneo and La Salle’s march to the semis.
In the women’s division Saturday, titleholder UP overcame Ateneo, 3-2, to secure the first Final Four berth with a 4-0 record.
La Salle overpowered UE, 5-0, while NU beat Adamson University, 4-1, to force a three-way tie with Ateneo in second spot at 3-1.