At the beginning of the season, co-ed badminton coach Sal Banquiles made his goal clear: “To make it to the top four and go to [Central Coast Section Championships] (CCS).”

With two doubles teams and one singles player placing in the top four at the Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) playoffs and qualifying for CCS, the Panthers can now confidently say they’ve achieved that goal.

While the team ended with a 3-9 record in the regular season, placing sixth in the PAL Bay league, Burlingame fought hard beyond expectations come the postseason.

Although they began to make inroads against their rivals toward the end of the season, showcasing new skills and demonstrating team growth, it wasn’t until the PAL playoffs, spanning over three days, that the team began to hit its stride.

On Tuesday, April 30, the Panthers competed in both singles and mixed doubles matches. Senior Clara Zhong, competing in girls’ singles no. 1, exhibited dominant form against her opponents, securing victory in her first set with a commanding 21-6 score and following up with a 21-10 win in the second set, placing her in a favorable position in the tournament.

“I was a bit nervous about playing Aragon because they’ve been pretty good this season. They’re like the number two team besides Carlmont and I know that Allison [no. 2 singles], played the Aragon number two and she won once and lost once so I wasn’t I didn’t really know what to do skill-wise. But I ended up playing pretty well so I’m happy,” Zhong said.

Zhong showcased exceptional skill and temperament throughout her matches, winning her next game. Although she eventually succumbed to a tough two-set loss against Carlmont’s reigning no. 1 girls’ singles, she placed fourth overall.

Expectations were lower for mixed doubles duo junior Ashley Zeng and Brandon Mark, who had no previous experience playing together.

But the two pulled off a victory in a three-set thriller, bouncing back after losing their first set 14-21 to take the next two sets 7-21 and 17-21 respectively.

In the first set, both teams were finding their comfort zones. On both sides, the players dropped smashes left and right. Suddenly, Zeng and Mark took the momentum and dominated the next two sets, winning the game and putting them in fourth place to qualify for Central Coast Section (CCS).

“It was an intense game, and me and my partner still need to bond more because we haven’t played together a lot,” Mark said. “So we tried to use cheap tactics like mental games to break them down. But overall, I think it is a really good run.”

Likewise, boys’ double senior captain Jayden Ma and freshman Brandon Lin played a tight two matches before falling to Aragon in the third round.

However, they rebounded in the losers’ bracket and eventually qualified for the CCS competition placing fourth place.

“I’m really happy about it because we made it to top four. So now we have like a secure place for PALs day two. But it’s actually like my first time getting to top four because in previous years I played singles and that was really hard,” Ma said.

As a group, the numbers don’t show much, but when one looks at the details, each player stepped up and did their part for the team. Although they may have not won their league or placed in the top three, they made up for it in this tournament.

“Today I told them to just play their best because it’s their [seniors] last match. To have fun and be aware because everyone is really good here and opponents won’t be easy, but like I said, you’re already here so just play,” Coach Sal Banquiles said.

In short, it’s safe to say that the Panthers gave all they had, and their effort, even in the face of adversity, bodes well for the future of the program.

“I’m really proud of the team because we have so many people that made it to [finals day]. So I’m just proud of everyone’s performance,” Ma said.