The Business and Management (B&M) Vipers and Social Sciences (SS) Dragons emerged victorious in the recently concluded Palarong Atenista 2023 men’s badminton tournament, with the Vipers bagging the gold medal in the singles category, while the Dragons snatched the win in the doubles category.

Vipers’ Daryl Dizon ended the win streak of the School of Engineering and Architecture (SEA) Tigers’ Reynel Carrasco throughout the tournament in a 22-20, 23-21 close match.

His defense strategy gave him the advantage over his attack-centered opponent, with both sets ending with a deuce, slowing down the momentum of both players.

Dizon banked on strategic shuttlecock placement to force his opponent to commit errors that ended the championship match with the opponent hitting the shuttle out.

“Even though it was hard, I persevered throughout the match and stayed determined enough to win against my opponent,” Dizon told Atenews.

In the doubles category, Social Science Dragons’ duo Bryle Sermese and Arth Cipriano floored  Accountancy Griffins’ duo Matthew Petrasanta and Lyster Kent Clemente after a tight match with a score of 22-20 in the first set and 21-19 in the second set.

Despite the Griffins slowly closing the gap during the second set, the Dragons snuffed out the Griffins’ chances of victory with a deciding forehand smash from Cipriano, winning the game by a hair.

While both teams relied on power to score points, the victors banked on their in-game communication for strategies, which has proven effective against their opponent and further bolstered their chances of victory.

“We use hand symbols to [silently] communicate with my partner to do low or high serves,” Cipriano said in a post-game interview.

Their drive to win sets them apart from their opponents despite them having the same level of expertise as them as stated by the victors.

The tournament was held on October 1 at Smashville Fitness Center.