Cebuano Kinaadman, UE near first UAAP title

CEBUANO netter Josshua Kinaadman and the rest of the University of the East (UE) Red Lawn Netters are on the verge of claiming their first title in history after finishing with a 9-1 (win-loss) in the eliminations of the UAAP Season 79 tennis championships.

With the impressive record, UE earned a twice-to-beat advantage against the University of Sto. Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers in the final round slated this Saturday at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.

After suffering their only loss of the season to the defending champions National University last week, the Red Lawn Netters were able to bounce back in style over the weekend as they upended the UST Growling Tigers in a finals preview, 3-2.

Season 77 Rookie of the Year Kinaadman led the charge for UE as he started the day with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over UST’s Francis Suazo while his teammate AJ Lim gave them a sizable advantage after dominating Nico Lanzado, 6-2, 6-1, to take a 2-0 lead and move a win closer to finish the Growling Tigers.

The Growling Tigers lived up to their moniker as they staged a fight back with Dave Mosqueda routing his UE counterpart, Rodolfo Barquin, 6-4, 6-0, before his teammates Joel Cabusas and Bernlou Bering overcame an opening set meltdown to hack out a 0-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over the Red Lawn Netters duo of Jeric Delos Santos and Paulo Baran to tie the count at two apiece.

With the game hanging on the balance, the Red Lawn Netters turned to the pair of Rogelio Estaño and Rolly Saga, who escaped the UST tandem of Clarence Cabahug and En-en Lopez, 6-2, 5-7, 6-1.

Despite the loss, the Growling Tigers still advanced to the finals after finishing second in the eliminations with a 7-3 (win-loss) record.