2nd Pinoy Mabuhay Cup - Veteran tennisters notch clinical wins

Riyadh – Seasoned tennisters and early favorites UTT Logistics, SEC Power Netters and DIFA Spin hitters led the blitz at the ongoing 2nd Pinoy Mabuhay Cup, trashing their opponents with brilliant display of tennis at Al Yamama Hotel Tennis Courts.

In Court 1 & 2 last August 10, seeded players provided the wall for UTT’s near demolition of Acers, bringing home the bacon at that night, 42-31, with only its C2 players (Art Bumatay & Gilbert Masias) succumbing to Acers’ Abdulaziz Manzano & Michael Reyes, 2-8. UTT is to face Spin smashers on Sunday, August 22, in the 4th round .

In Court 3 & 4, Al Rumaih/SAIB turned the tables on Pacific Cargo, overpowering the latter with guts and experience as it emerged victorious after see-saw games going into the final matches of the night.

A day later, in court 1 & 2, DIFA Spinners, anchored by Pete Petersen & Tom Silverio, overcame the Net Warriors, 39 games to 31, after splitting the first four matches. Petersen and Silverio’s (B1/B2 tennisters) drubbing of Net Warriors’ Boy Gopez and Ernie Carillo to 2 games only proved enough to provide them the bonus point and catapult DIFA on top with 9 wins (86 games).

DIFA’s trashing of Net Warriors’ lower ranked tennisters was crucial as the latter was limited to only 5 games with four matches still to be accounted for. DIFA’s C2 players (Danny Maun & Romy Asiones) got past NW’s Rudy Tablate & Alex Bergonia, 8-2, while its C3/C4 players (Asiones & Rudy Alberto) overwhelmed the duo of Ver Rubio & Bergonia, 8-3. They are to meet FC Netters today, August 20, in Court 1, 2 & 3.

In Court 5 & 6, Positive Beat tennisters regrouped to turn the tide on Siemens as their last four matches proved to be nail-biting. Siemens’ smashers rallied to catch up to their opponents but lost steam as they surrendered a dozen of breakpoints to go down, 19 games to 31.

Tennisters Randy Cepe & Bob Cardinal (B1/B2) and the tandem of Jess Butalid and Max Ingal (B3/B4) produced the goods for Positive Beat, coming home winners, after more than two hours of devastating rallies, 8-2 and 8-3, respectively.

Overall, D’Stallions led the pack going into the 3rd round, with 16 wins (131 games), followed by SEC Power Netters, 13 (124). On 3rd place is UTT Logistics with 12 (86), followed by Serve & Volley, 9 (116). Trailing them are Nestle and Al Rumaih-SAIB, both with identical 9 wins (96 games). Gem Beringuel

Pinoy Mabuhay Cup 2004 - Consistency & Sheer Luck Propel 3 Teams to Victory (by Gem Beringuel)

Riyadh – Three formidable tennis teams scored emphatic victories last August 8 to capture the lead after the second round of the 2nd Pinoy Mabuhay Cup at Al Yamama Hotel Tennis Courts here.

In Court 5 & 6, early frontrunner D’ Stallions proved too strong for Serve & Volley and won 41 games to 39 after losing three matches before its higher ranked players subdued their opponents in convincing fashion.

The trio of D’ Stallions, Telemoney and Spin Doctors edged out their equally strong opponents with guts and experience, coming home winners after tense and hard-fought matches.

D’ Stallions went off to a poor start by losing the first three matches of its lower ranked tennisters. Fortunately, midway into the matches, it was all the D’ Stallions turn as its B5/B6 (Abet Bagay & Gener Marasigan) players fought point by point to secure the crucial win to gain momentum, 8-3, from the Serve & Volley tandem of Ruben Galema and Ato Bautista. From here, the victories were all for the D’ Stallions as the remaining B players played superbly to overtake the Serve & Volley at the finish line, 41 games to 39.

In Court 3 & 4, like D’ Stallions, Spin Doctors also managed to split all the 6 matches, edging out SEC Power Netters at the tape, also with an identical score, 41 to 39.

SEC Power Netters and Spin Doctors equally divided the first four matches, with the former slightly ahead with 2 games going into the next two matches. With the win of Spin’s Rene Sumido and Gerry Villaraiz (B3 & B4) over SEC’s Sergio Arato and Chito Abreau, the overall winner of the night’s matches was still uncertain as they edged out SEC only by 1 game going into the last match. The match of their B1/B2 players, Fidel Ulan/Danny Delfin & Danny Villanueva/Clark Minoza proved nerved-wracking as the two pairs exchanged hard rallies to exact defeat on each other. In the end, it was just sheer luck that separated the two tandems, with the Spin claiming the match in a tiebreak, 8-7.

In Court 1 & 2, Telemoney tennisters scored overwhelmingly against their foes with consistency and variety of shots, capturing 4 matches to 2. Telemoney’s lower ranked players saved the night for the team limiting their rivals to 14 games.

Telemoney’s Bebot Bancula and Rolly Barrozo (B1/B2) bulldozed the tandem of Romy Onas and Choi Calupcupan, 8-1, after their colleagues, Roger Samain & Roberto Itum (B3/B4) and Kamar Pancho & Jed Allonto (B5/B6) surrendered to Masco’s tandems of Nestor Etor & Rey Lamban and Dennis De Castro & Rey Esteban, respectively. In all, Telemoney got 36 points as against Masco’s 31.

With the victories, D’ Stallions cemented its place on top with 10 points going into the 3rd round. The Spin tennisters also moved up with 7 points, with Masco not far behind with 6.

In today’s (Friday, August 13) matches, D’ Stallions will be seen again in action against FC Netters in Court 1, 2 & 3.

CONSISTENCY & SHEER LUCK PROPEL 3 TEAMS TO VICTORY: 2nd PINOY MANBUHAY CUP