UP forces Game 3 decider with thrilling Game 2 comeback

In a thrilling Game 2, the University of the Philippines narrowly defeated the University of Santo Tomas 3-2 on Saturday at the Colegio San Agustin-Bulacan Tennis Court, forcing a decisive Game 3 in the UAAP Season 88 Collegiate Men’s Tennis Finals.

The winner-takes-all Game 3 will take place on Sunday at 7:30 a.m. at the same Bulacan venue.

UP's Carl Tan and Andrei Jarata rose to the occasion, overcoming Steven Sonsona and Al-Zayeed Baid 7-5, 6-1 in the crucial doubles match to extend the series.

“Coach just told us to be better. We didn’t really find our groove in Game 1, but we managed to come back today,” said Tan. “We just focused on our own games and didn’t think about other matches. Even though our first doubles team was 7-2 down in the super tiebreaker and came back, we just stayed locked in on our match,” he added.

UST started strong, with Christopher Sonsona dominating Heinz Carbonilla 6-0, 6-2 in third singles.

The España squad then extended their lead when Ericjay Tangub triumphed over Lance Fernandez in first singles, taking a tight tiebreak before cruising to a 7-6(2), 6-0 victory.

However, Loucas Fernandez kept UP’s hopes alive, bouncing back from a tough first set to outlast Evan Bacalso in a gritty three-set match, 0-6, 6-4, 6-2.

UP’s Miguel Iglupas and Raymund Goco mounted a dramatic comeback in first doubles against UST's Richard Bautista and Nash Agustines. After dropping the opening set, the pair found themselves down 7-2 in the match tiebreak but rallied to win 4-6, 6-2, 11-9, keeping their championship dreams alive.

“Today, we were braver than on Wednesday,” said Iglupas. “In the last set, there was a lot of pressure since we were down 7-2, and my partner was struggling too. I had to lift him up and push him to keep fighting. I just believed in myself and my partner that we could pull through.”

Game 1 saw UST dominate, sweeping UP 3-0.