The Social Sciences (SS) Dragons secured the gold podium for a second time around in the badminton doubles category, while the School of Engineering and Architecture (SEA) Tigers emerged victorious in the singles category during the recently concluded Palarong Atenista 2024 men’s badminton tournament.

SS Dragons’ duo Bryle Sermese and Arth Cipriano continued their reign in the sport, successfully defending their championship title from last year’s Palarong Atenista with a dominant display of performance, winning both sets, 2-0.

After tying the score early in the first set, Sermese and Cipriano overtook the Business and Management (B&M) Vipers and left them struggling behind, finishing with a commanding score, 21-9.

B&M Vipers fought hard to claim the second set, but SS Dragons remained resolute and wrapped up the game with a 21-17 victory.

“It is a remarkable victory because last year I made it with my partner, Arth Cipriano. It was just one thing we got to the finals, and now, we won it again,” Sermese told Atenews.

In the singles category, SEA Tigers’ Aaron Dominic Recomes dominated in singles, winning two straight sets against Accountancy (ACC) Griffins’ Ahmad Rayyan Malawani, finishing with a score of 2-0. 

Starting strong, Recomes unleashed a series of powerful forehand smashes against Malawani, putting his opponent on the defensive and seizing the advantage to take the lead in the first set, 21-8.

Malawani, heeding the advice from his team on the sidelines, attempted to find his way back into the match but was outplayed by Recomes, concluding the set with Malawani’s error on a short return, handing Recomes victory in the second set, 21-11.

“By having the courage to believe in myself even though I know that I don’t know ano ang capacity at skills ng kalaban ko, just ano lang, tiwala lang sa sarili,” Recomes said. 

The badminton tournament for the men’s singles and doubles category was held on September 15 at the Smashville Fitness Center.