Panday Pira wins Pinoy Cup 2003
Riyadh – With persistence and endurance, Panday Pira subdued the might of highly-favored Emilio Jacinto, 3-1, in a best-of-four-set finals to capture the Championship of the 1st Pinoy Cup 2003 Team Tennis Tour last August 17 at Al Yamama Hotel Tennis Courts here.Both teams played superbly earlier in the tour, pulling ahead of the pack going into the finals.
During the Championship match, Panday Pira unfolded its defenses when its C3/C4 players (Francisco Sigaya & Allan Bayos) trounced Emilio Jacinto’s counterparts (Zosimo Mores & Edgar Estoesta), 8-3.
The result appeared to downplay Emilio Jacinto’s court senses but it was really a close tussle midway into the match when both teams made it 2-2 after four games. The next game also saw Panday Pira’s Bayos broken to go down, 2-3. But the momentum changed after that as Panday Pira’s duo broke back thrice and held serves to end the match after more than an hour of rallies.
In Court 2, Emilio Jacinto’s C1/C2 players (Eoji Lacno & Larry Constantino) fought tooth and nail to spring back their hopes, hammering Panday Pira’s Jo San Juan & Ramon Montales with the same score, 8-3. Unfortunately, the duo of Panday Pira’s B3/B4 players (Richard Villanueva & Mar Permites) doused cold water on their quest as they pipped in Rene Andes & Al Puse in the nail-biting tiebreak, 8-7.
The crucial B1/B2 match between Panday Pira’s Fidel Ulan & Noli Villasis and Emilio Jacinto’s Bert Oliva and Bong Bueta provided the drama that ensued after 12 games. Both pairs were leveled at 6 all, deuce (sudden death) when a backhand down-the-line volley by Oliva was called out by Villasis. The match was interrupted for a few minutes when both players stood by their calls. With the interference of umpires Edwin Sajonia and Ricky Tamayosa the match continued with Panday Pira gaining the upperhand in the decisive tiebreak, 9-7, and 27 points overall against 25 for Emilio Jacinto. Both pairs would have to replay had Panday Pira lost as they would be accumulating 26 overall points.
Simultaneously, Diego Silang posted three wins against early favorite Gomburza to clinch 3rd place. Gomburza, which registered a tiebreak win by its C3/C4 players (Edgar Polinar & Raffy Sta. Ana) against Diego Silang (Nabil Mojica & Gil Necesito), 8-7, settled for 4th. Diego garnered 31 points while Gomburza gained 18.
Awarding is on Sunday, August 24, at 8:30 p.m. at Al Yamama Hotel Tennis Court 1. Sponsors were Radisson SAS, Vodatel, Racquet Shop, The Filipino Channel (TFC), House of Donuts, Philippine Airlines, McDonald’s Olaya Branch, Al Manhal Water Factory Ltd (Exclusive Distributor of Springs Beverage Capri-Sonne Juices), Top Tennis Shop and United Foods Industries Co. (Deemah). GEM BERINGUEL
