San jose del monte: The University of the Philippines (UP) emerged victorious against the University of the East (UE) with a 3-2 win in the UAAP Season 88 men's tennis tournament held at Colegio San Agustin. The match concluded with the Fighting Maroons securing their triumph through Raymund Goco and rookie Carl Tan, who overcame RJ Baje and Kent Morales with scores of 6-4, 7-6 (0), in the best-of-five tie.

According to Philippines News Agency, the National University (NU) also demonstrated a strong performance by sweeping Adamson University with a 5-0 win. Both UP and NU concluded the first round with identical 5-1 win-loss records. However, UP claimed the top position due to their earlier 4-1 victory over the Bulldogs on February 15.

The University of Santo Tomas also performed strongly by blanking Ateneo de Manila University, 5-0, which allowed them to join UE in second place with a 4-2 record. UP's head coach, Jacob Lagman, expressed satisfaction with the team's performance and emphasized the need for further improvement as they prepare for a challenging second round.

UP initially secured a 2-0 lead when Miguel Iglupas defeated Allyson Cabanilla, 6-4, 6-2, and Lance Fernandez overcame Marc Suson, 6-3, 6-0. UE's JB Aguilar managed to win against Loucas Fernandez, 6-3, 6-4, in a rematch of the Gentry National Open men's singles collegiate finals, but Goco and Tan's win ensured UP's overall victory. Additionally, UE's Kian Sanchez and Mark Dave Palanas achieved a hard-fought win in the second doubles match against Andrei Jarata and Stephen Catipon, 6-3, 1-6, 11-9.

In other matches, reigning MVP Andre Padao led NU's title campaign with a victory over Miecos Candelasa, while his teammates secured wins against their respective opponents, resulting in a clean sweep. Similarly, UST's EJ Tangub began their successful sweep by defeating JD Velez, with teammates following suit to secure their victories in subsequent matches.