MSU IIT Pickleball Club

Rainy Thursday Open Play.

Good games. Great vibes.

Lights On, Games Up 🌙

Built for rallies. Ready for action.
MSU-IIT Pickleball Court. 🥒

Work in progress today, game on tomorrow. 🥒🎨

Game. Set. Practice.

𝗣𝗔𝗗𝗗𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗨𝗣!
𝗠𝗦𝗨-𝗜𝗜𝗧 𝗖𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘇𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗦 ’𝟮𝟱 𝗣𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁

Following a hard-fought semifinals loss, the Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) Cats ended their bid for a finals appearance, falling to the University of Southern Mindanao (USM), 1-3, to secure the bronze medal in the Mindanao Association of State Tertiary Schools (MASTS) Incorporated Friendship Games and Socio-Cultural Festival 2025 Pickleball Team Event Tournament held at the Misamis Occidental National High School (MONHS) Gymnasium, Oroquieta City, on October 28.

The Cats opened their MASTS stint with a solid 3-0, sweeping the Jose Rizal Memorial State University (JRMSU) to advance to their second game against Zamboanga Peninsula Polytechnic State University (ZPPSU).

They managed to ride their momentum with back-to-back victories against ZPPSU, 3-1, and Central Mindanao University (CMU), 3-2, in the quarterfinals, which secured their spot in the semifinals.

During their matchup against USM, the Cats displayed resilience despite being down 0-2 early on after conceding both the Men’s Doubles and Women’s Doubles matches.

Arabela Trixie Jurao and Jannearlle James Maasin kept the Cats’ hopes alive as they clawed their way into the scoreboard, capturing a crucial win in the Mixed A Doubles to cut the deficit to 1-2. However, their late surge still wasn’t enough as the team fell short of forcing a decider, dropping the Mixed B Doubles to seal their semifinal exit, 1-3.

The semifinal game marked the team’s fourth consecutive match in the tournament, which tested their endurance and coordination after a series of intense rallies and powerful plays.

Despite the setback, the MSU-IIT Cats Pickleball Team—composed of team members Maasin, Jurao, Alimar Mangoranda, Irvin Frederick Pabillar, Jayson Pantollana, Elmea Maris Canaliso, Chrisia Gayle Denopol, and Mishca Gail Lopecillo—under the guidance of their coach, Mikhail Don Patria, concluded the tournament with a performance that reflected their remarkable teamwork, determination, and grit.

Lopecillo, a second-year BS Hospitality Management student, expressed that the team’s focus, belief, and trust in each other played a key role in clinching a podium finish, “We worked together, supported each other, and it paid off,” she stated. “Of course, [with] a healthy dose of faith, because once you’ve done your part, we trusted that God would do the rest,” she added.

This bronze finish marked not just a podium achievement but also a significant milestone for the MSU-IIT Cats Pickleball Team. As one of MSU-IIT’s newest additions to its varsity roster, their campaign reflected their steady growth and increasing competitiveness within Mindanao’s collegiate pickleball arena—demonstrating that success is built not only on skill, but also on persistence and the collective effort of a team driven by shared purpose and pride.

Report by Zuhra Myeisha Midtimbang
Proofread by Emmanuel Barabar and Dante Doyon
Graphics by Kristoffer Neo Senyahan