One of the notable surprises in the UP Women’s Badminton Varsity Team’s campaign has been the doubles pairing of Anielka “Niki” Paz and Krissa “Sasa” De Leon. Although they did not compete as a pair in their preseason tournaments, the two began testing their partnership during the latter part of the team’s preparations for the season. Since then, they have quickly emerged as a pairing to watch, showing promise against some of the league’s toughest opponents.
Photo by Jethro Villafuerte/ UP Fighting Maroons Club
Despite their late reunion as partners, the two were no strangers to each other’s game. Paz shared that they had previously played together in a badminton team, JLTC, in 2022, and that their longstanding friendship has helped them build chemistry both on and off the court.
Photo from Anielka Paz
“I’ve known Sasa since we were elementary and I think this contributes to why we have chemistry not only inside the court but also outside the court. I am really extremely ultra mega thankful that I get to be partners with Sasa again because I am very comfortable with Sasa inside the court,” Paz shared.
She also expressed her gratitude to the coaching staff for trusting their partnership, which has since become a promising addition to UP’s doubles lineup.
De Leon and Paz made an immediate impression in their debut against UST, dispatching Dorega and Herbabuena in straight sets to help UP secure a dominant 5-0 team-tie victory.
Their next outing against NU, however, proved to be a tougher test. With UP trailing 1-2 in the team tie, De Leon and Paz took the court as the second doubles pair against Bualat and De Leon. The duo fought through a tightly contested three-set encounter but ultimately fell short, 22-24, 21-17, 23-25.
For Paz, the narrow defeat was particularly disappointing given how close they came to closing out the match. The pair had reached set point first in all three sets but could not convert those opportunities into a win.
“Honestly our loss against NU was very disappointing because among all the 3 sets we played during that game, we got to get the set point (20) first in all sets,” she said.
Rather than dwell on the setback, the pair returned to training the following day to address the areas that needed improvement, from shot selection to rotation. Their focus shifted to applying those adjustments in their next outing.
“After that game which was last Sunday, nagtraining po agad kami ng Monday and we tried to fix everything that needed to be fixed. From our shots to our rotation we worked on them and just hoped that sa next game that we play, we will be able to apply the things that we worked on during Monday training,” Paz shared.
With a compressed UAAP schedule leaving little room for complacency, the loss also served as an early reminder of the need to make every match count. Having experienced the pressure of a team tie that could determine the outcome of the contest, De Leon and Paz took lessons from their NU encounter into their succeeding matches.
After sitting out UP’s 5-0 sweep of DLSU to give other pairings their turn, De Leon and Paz returned to the court against defending champions Ateneo with a strong performance. Bouncing back from their narrow loss to NU, the duo showed its ability to compete against the league’s top contenders.
With the Fighting Maroons leading the team tie, 2-1, De Leon and Paz came out firing against Ateneo’s Hernandez sisters, refusing to let their opponents gain momentum. The pair maintained control throughout the match, securing a straight-sets victory, 21-17, 21-14, to give UP a 3-1 lead and seal the team-tie win.
For Paz, the victory meant more than settling the score after their previous loss. She also hoped their performance would ease the pressure on UP’s final singles player, who still had to take the court.
“It feels good because not only that we were able to secure the win but also hopefully we were able to let the last singles, Brys, feel less pressured,” she said.
Paz added that their experience against NU helped them approach the Ateneo match with greater composure, particularly with the team-tie standing placing additional pressure on their performance.
“Before our game started, me and Sasa were talking about how we should just play our game and not pressure ourselves because the standing that time was 2-1,” she shared.
The pair’s adjustments paid off as they helped UP secure a 4-1 victory over the defending champions, clinching the Fighting Maroons’ place in the Final Four and placing them second behind NU in the standings.
Looking back on their bounce-back performance, Paz emphasized that the win was both a response to their NU defeat and an opportunity to contribute to the team’s campaign.
“For me and Sasa it was more on showing na ‘babawi’ po talaga kami from our previous loss but at the same time [contributing] to the team,” she said.
With the Final Four secured, De Leon and Paz have emerged as an X-factor in UP’s deep and solid lineup. Their developing partnership gives the coaching staff another reliable doubles combination to work with, while their performances have shown how quickly the pair can learn from setbacks and respond on court.
As UP continues its pursuit of redemption and reclamation, De Leon and Paz offer another dimension to the team’s title bid, one built on familiarity, continued adjustments, and a willingness to step up when the team needs them most.
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