JEDDAH: The 8th ALBAIK Team Tennis Tournament 2016 and the 29th event organized by ASTEC (Association of Tennis Clubs in Jeddah) entered its final phase at the weekend at the Trio-Ranch Country Club and witnessed some tournament favorites toppled, while other category former champions crushed their opponents to cruise into the finals.
Elaf Group upset top-ranked Jeddah Ranao Tennis Club (JRTC) in Middle Mix (B1/B2) category via a winner-take-all 4th set. Elaf’s tandems of Cats Catalan-Ricky Salazar and August Talavera-Rey Tablang took the 1st and 2nd sets in a tense tie-breaker 8-7, allowing the team just a 2-point advantage going into the 3rd set.
JRTC’s pair of Jalil Ompong-Faizal Lantong easily disposed of their rivals by taking the next set 8-4 to keep their hopes alive. Despite feeling the pressure in the 4th set both pairs showed their determination to win for their team as it became a see-saw battle match that eventually went 8-5 to Elaf’s tandem of Marlon Pagsanjan-Nilo Salvedia for a finals berth in this category.
In the other bracket, ABTC was set to score another upset by winning the first two sets 8-6, 8-5 before giving away the 3rd set to Saudia City’s Von Daligdig-Michael Landrito and then squandered the lead in the 4th set in a heart-breaking 8-6 loss to SCTC’s Ricky Delgado-Ramil Abdua. The match ended with a final one-point advantage at 27-26 (2-2) by SCTC which will now face Elaf Group in the finals in the Middle Mix category.
As can be gleaned from the results of the semifinals in B2 and Lower Mix (B2/C), Uricane Tennis Club (UTC), playing under the banner of Issham International, is set to defend its championship titles by narrowly edging out their rivals in both categories. In the Lower Mix and B2, UTC team captain Ronnie Organo, playing the 4th set of each tie, needed only 1 and 2 game-points respectively to seal its place in the finals in both categories. In the Lower Mix, UTC will face rival SGS Tennis Racquet Club, which earlier defeated JRTC-Webb, for the championship trophy. UTC, however, will face a tougher opponent in category B2 as Hidada Tennis Club blasted SCTC in straight sets 3-0 to claim the other finals berth.
SCTC’s back-to-back losses in the Men’s Division in categories Lower Mix and B2 were avenged by its Ladies Division tennisters, as they emerged champions in Friday’s finals event, after subduing Jeddah International School (JISTC) in straight sets 3-0 in Higher Mix (B1/B2) and 2-1 in Lower Mix (B2/C).
ASTEC will take a two-day break in preparation for the finals for the Men’s Division in all categories during the weekend. This 40-day tennis event is in partnership with Albaik Food Express and co-sponsored by Deltaz Marketing, Sky Freight Forwarders, and Qatar Airways.
Elaf Group upset top-ranked Jeddah Ranao Tennis Club (JRTC) in Middle Mix (B1/B2) category via a winner-take-all 4th set. Elaf’s tandems of Cats Catalan-Ricky Salazar and August Talavera-Rey Tablang took the 1st and 2nd sets in a tense tie-breaker 8-7, allowing the team just a 2-point advantage going into the 3rd set.
JRTC’s pair of Jalil Ompong-Faizal Lantong easily disposed of their rivals by taking the next set 8-4 to keep their hopes alive. Despite feeling the pressure in the 4th set both pairs showed their determination to win for their team as it became a see-saw battle match that eventually went 8-5 to Elaf’s tandem of Marlon Pagsanjan-Nilo Salvedia for a finals berth in this category.
In the other bracket, ABTC was set to score another upset by winning the first two sets 8-6, 8-5 before giving away the 3rd set to Saudia City’s Von Daligdig-Michael Landrito and then squandered the lead in the 4th set in a heart-breaking 8-6 loss to SCTC’s Ricky Delgado-Ramil Abdua. The match ended with a final one-point advantage at 27-26 (2-2) by SCTC which will now face Elaf Group in the finals in the Middle Mix category.
As can be gleaned from the results of the semifinals in B2 and Lower Mix (B2/C), Uricane Tennis Club (UTC), playing under the banner of Issham International, is set to defend its championship titles by narrowly edging out their rivals in both categories. In the Lower Mix and B2, UTC team captain Ronnie Organo, playing the 4th set of each tie, needed only 1 and 2 game-points respectively to seal its place in the finals in both categories. In the Lower Mix, UTC will face rival SGS Tennis Racquet Club, which earlier defeated JRTC-Webb, for the championship trophy. UTC, however, will face a tougher opponent in category B2 as Hidada Tennis Club blasted SCTC in straight sets 3-0 to claim the other finals berth.
SCTC’s back-to-back losses in the Men’s Division in categories Lower Mix and B2 were avenged by its Ladies Division tennisters, as they emerged champions in Friday’s finals event, after subduing Jeddah International School (JISTC) in straight sets 3-0 in Higher Mix (B1/B2) and 2-1 in Lower Mix (B2/C).
ASTEC will take a two-day break in preparation for the finals for the Men’s Division in all categories during the weekend. This 40-day tennis event is in partnership with Albaik Food Express and co-sponsored by Deltaz Marketing, Sky Freight Forwarders, and Qatar Airways.
