11 enter semis in badminton doubles tourney

Eleven pairs had already secured semis seats in the 2012 Tan Holdings Doubles Badminton Competition.

Women’ A division favorites Hannah, Choi and Kim Boranah of Saipan Badminton Club led the list of playoff qualifiers after completing the round-robin elimination with a 6-1 record. Choi and Boranah notched two more wins last weekend, prevailing over Shirley’s Badminton Club’s Toshiko Obata and Annette Ta, 17-21, 21-15, 21-16, and Taga’s Cristy Villaflor and Merlie Tolentino, 21-13, 21-17, to take the top seed in the women’s A division .

The No. 1-ranked duo will face the Berks Blazkers’ Lani Bartolome and Lucelle Lampera in the semifinals. Lampera and Bartolome clinched the last semis ticket last weekend, finishing the elimination with a 5-2 record. Third placer Cheng Saturno and Ana Alvarez of Golden Racquets also had a 5-2 card, but ruled the tiebreak with its 14 games won. Completing the semis cast was the mother and daughter tandem of Loyda and Angie Ito, who holds a 5-1 record with one game left before the semis round start this weekend.

The Itos nailed two wins last weekend, downing Tolentino and Villaflor, 21-19, 21-13, and Marylyn Montano and Juneh Padua, 21-17, 17-21, 21-8. Lampera and Bartolome also swept their last games, winning over Kim and Choi, 26-24, 12-21, 21-15, and Montano and Padua, 21-12, 21-12.

In the women’s B division, only one semis berth is left after Lee So Young and Heo In Sook, Elma Labuson and Obata and Montano and Saturno had already clinched the first three Final Four ticket.

Lee and Heo went undefeated in five matches in Pool A to take the No. 1 seed, while Labuson and Obata had a 4-1 record to win the second playoff seat in the group. Montano and Saturno were the first ones to secure a ticket to the next round in Pool B behind its unbeaten 4-0 record. Two pairs—Tolentino and Villaflor and Lampera and Annette Quiambao—will fight for the last semis slot and the winner will be decided after Friday’s games. Tolentino and Villaflor were already done with their assignments in the elimination round, holding a 3-2 record, while Lampera and Quiambao have a 2-1 slate with two games left.

In the women’s C, the Final Four cast was completed last weekend with Midori Obi and Kazuko Sondheim, Jane Tupaz and Arlene Naguit, Rose Lazaro and Irish Pagarao, and Alma Ortega and Ester Choi advancing.

The crossover semis will be played this Friday and Saturday, while championship games will take place this Sunday.

Meanwhile, the list of semifinalists for the men’s division will be published in tomorrow’s edition of Saipan Tribune.