JEDDAH: Team Red’s singles specialist, Eman Usman, jumped out to a 3-0 lead with his sizzling baseline shots and frequent foray in front of the net against Hajji Pilongo of Team Green, and came out scorching the baseline games of the normally consistent Pilongo and breaking his opponent’s serves in the 4th game then held his own in the 5th for a cool 5-1 lead.

Usman blitzed into his opponent’s court in the 8th game with stunning corner shots that closed the match at 6-3. With that win, Usman also clinched the most-coveted Best Singles Player award in the tournament, and kept his team’s hope alive for the top ranking going into the semifinal round.

In other scheduled matches last Friday, both Team Red and Team Green were pitted against each other aiming for the top spot, but either team had to win and sweep the match in 5-0 sets. Both teams had a a 4-set total score, at the start of their match, and either could make the top with 9 sets overall or at least a tie with either Team Blue or Team Orange.

Uly Bartolata/Mario Betorio of Team Red had it 1-0 after a difficult start that went through a deuce and a sudden-death serve. The games that followed was a see-saw battle, resulting from 2-2 till 7-7 ties and 7 sudden-death serves. Team Green’s pair of Nep Rosco and Roy Timtiman stood firm on center court and on net games to catch up from deficits of 1-2, 3-4, through 6-7 to draw level of 7-all after winning a sudden-death serve. But Team Red’s Uly Bartolata/Marion Betorio wrapped up the match in the deciding tie-breaker 7-5.

The 3rd set came out a bombshell for Team Red, as the Team Green’s top doubles of Romy Sorra and Norwin Catipay broke loose from 2-3 deficits to break the service games of Team Red’s Waymour Carmelotes in the 6th game and that of Celso Abella in the 8th, followed by Team Green’s winning serves in the 7th and 9th games to post a commanding 6-3 lead. The Red pair mounted a comeback to get close at 6-7, and then still had the advantage to level the score for possible 7-7 tie with their own service game. But Waymour Carmelotes failed to hold serve and lost the match at game points 30-40, to surrender the 3rd match to Team Green at 8-6 match points.

The 4th set saw Team Green’s momentum further hold Team Red’s advance while boosting Green for a shot at the 3rd ranking. Jun Tomas and Mansur Jamiri crawled back into contention from 0-1, 2-3, 3-4, and 4-5 deficits then came up with the big shots at key points to cap the decisive points from 5-5 to nail an 8-5 decision against Team Red’s Ali Callanta and Sherwin Nervais. From 2-sets all, Team Red won the 5th set by-default due to no-show of the Team Green’s doubles tandem. That put Team Red on 3rd with 7 points the most it could muster, and Team Green on 4th rank on 6 points.

In the rescheduled match between Team Orange and Team Red last Sept. 11, Vic Rebong and Roman Alcantara of Team Orange lost their own service game in the first frame against Team Red’s Yousuf Adriatico and Sherwin Nervais. Rebong missed his serves after a deuce and ensuing sudden-death play, which is required by tournament rules, and the Red doubles took the first game 1-0. But the Orange pair recovered from their opening jitters all the way after that, as the Red pair’s game unraveled due to their opponent’s strategic and well-placed shots most of the time. Rebong /Alcantara of Team Orange romped away on cruise control over all the opportunities of service breaks, winning their own serves throughout after the first game to seal victory at 8-1.

Orange’s 5th set victory brought its total haul of 2-wins 1-loss after the round-robin phase of the tournament to tie Team Blue’s 2-1 overall standing. But Team Orange came up with the most number of sets won at 9 to claim No. 1 and relegate Team Blue, with 8 sets won, to No. 2.