Red Sea Tennis Players (RSTP) team took home one of the six championships at stake in this year’s 4th ALBAIK Team Tennis Challenge 2012 Men’s Division when it won via points against a fighting FUCHS team in the Higher Mixed (HMX) category in their match at the Hotel Al-Bilad courts.

In other category quarterfinal matches, DP World defeated Toyota Express 3-1 to book its semifinal seat in category B2, while in category C Uricane-Reem Riviera Resort made it to the semifinals at the expense of Arabian Homes in a match with only two sets played due to defaults in each team.

RSTP, eager to win the title which eluded it in the last season, started out the first set with the explosive tandem of Juvy Tagudin and Carmelo “Labs” Nery taking an early 4-2 lead before FUCHS’ Eloy Torres and Boonsit Terepol scored four unanswered points to take the lead at 6-4.

But RSTP would not be denied its win as Tagudin controlled the net and Nery with his powerful smash and well placed top-spin lobs to close out the set at 8-6 and score the first point. In the second set singles, FUCHS’ Renz Lacsina tamed the erstwhile unbeaten Abdelmeten Khoja with his well angled forehand drives and controlled underspin backhand to score an 8-4 win and tie the score at 1-1. In the third set, RSTP’s Jun Ouano and the flashy Francis “Kiko” Idjao showed their mastery inside the court as they robbed the game from Jovy Abella and Marcial Barro coasting to an easy 8-1 victory to lead the match at 2-1 and a five point plus. In the fourth set, RSTP’s Fred Masangkay and Vooch Maniri lost out via tiebreak to the Korean pair of Kim and Yoon to put the match at 2-2. Counting the all important scores 27-23, RSTP was declared the winner and with it the championship for the HMX category.

DP World controlled the first and second set in its category B2 assignment with wins by Choy Argarin and Ador Olivo over Joel and Louie 8-1 and Darrell Eltagonde with Allan Bergoza winning 8-5 against Raffy and Armand Bucad. In the third set Toyota Express with Rafikh Shaikh and Michael Landrito scored the first win, 8-1 against Andres and Arnel Gapate. In the fourth and final set, DP World’s Bennie Oandasan and Joel Chan preserved their lead and closed out the match by winning over Lito De Mesa and Leo Mira to card a 3-1 victory and their ticket to the semifinals. In other quarterfinals, DJ Auto Parts defeated NCB 3-0, ABTC topped J&B 3-1 and RSTP downed SHELTER via points 2-2 (29-25).

Uricane-Reem Riviera Resort prepared for a tough match due to their third set default but as luck would have it, Arabian Homes team also had a default in the fourth set. It therefore boiled down to the first and second sets. Arabian Homes controlled the first set when Jess Norte and Boyet Zozobrado won against Joe Espiritu and Ricky Salazar at 8-5. In the second set, Nelson Sta. Clara and Ronnie Organo raced to an 8-2 win over Hanzel and Zaldy to put Uricane in a tied 1-1 game and a leading 13-10 score. With the succeeding sets being default for each, the ending tally was 2-2 but Uricane had the higher scores at 21-18 to win the match and progress to the semifinals.

Organized by the Association of Tennis Clubs, Jeddah (ASTEC), this team tennis tournament is in partnership with Albaik Food Systems Co. as the major sponsor under the aegis of its PR Manager . Bassam Al Seyofi with Marketing Coordinator Mahmoud Al Jaber. Supporting the event is Deltaz Marketing (Racquet Shop) through Maher Tebakhi and Amin Malik and Al Raddadi Clinic through Ahmad Abdulrahman, Dr. Jethro Fajardo and Tony Bustamante.