Armatech surges ahead in Saipan Times badminton meet

The Armatech Blue Shuttlers surged to the top of the Saipan Times Open Badminton Team Tournament after their matches against the Sun Palace Smashers and Red Tigers last weekend at the TSL Sports Complex in Gualo Rai.

The Red Tigers’ Edwin Montoya, left, serves to Armatech Blue Shuttlers’ Joel Ortega as Jongmin Lee looks on during their men’s AB match in the Saipan Times Open Badminton Team Tournament last weekend at the TSL Sports Complex in Gualo Rai. (Jon Perez)

The Shuttlers’ two-game wins against the Smashers in the mixed AB and men’s BC divisions, and in the women’s B, and mixed B and BC categories over the Red Tigers pushed them on top with 41 games won followed by the Racket Roadrunners’ 40.

The Green Badminators is currently third with 38, the Red Tigers have 32 at fourth place, while the Smashers, which drew a bye, have compiled 29. Each badminton match is a divided into three games, not sets like in other sports.

The Shuttlers’ mixed BC pair of Eydie Uy and Loyda Ito humbled the Red Tigers’ Edwin Montoya and Vilma Reyes, 21-8, 22-20, while Ito teamed up with Christy Villaflor in completing a 21-5, 21-15 drubbing of Havika Farro and Elna Curate.

Team captain Jong Min Lee and Ito bested Ronnie Tan and Reyes in the mixed B, 21-12, 21-13.

Lee and Joel Ortega played three straight matches where they scored 2-1 wins over the pairs of Montoya and Jordan Pangilinan in men’s A (19-21, 21-13, 21-12) and AB (21-18, 18-21, 21-19).

Montoya then paired up with Nathan Guerrero in the men’s B where he dropped an 8-21, 21-17, 7-21, decision against Lee and Ortega. Guerrero, who is still in the C division, had some flashes of brilliance when he managed to hold his own against a pair of B players.

The Red Tigers came out victorious in the men’s BC, mixed AB, and women’s AB.

Montoya and Guerrero bounced back in the men’s BC with a 19-21, 21-19, 21-16 win over Ortega and June Pineda, while Pangilinan and Farro bested Lee and Malou Malasarte, 20-22, 21-16, 21-17.

Farro then joined Hannah Choi in completing a 16-21, 21-18, 21-17 victory over Malasarte and Ito after the Red Tigers pair struggled in the first game allowing their opponents to take control.

Choi opened up the first game with three straight errors as she and Farro allowed Malasarte to impose her will at the net, while Ito bombarded them with timely smashes as the Armatech duo went up 10-1.

Choi and Farro earned their second point when Ito’s corner shot went out of bounds. They lost the first game, 16-21, but played more cohesively in the second for a 21-18 decision and force a rubber.

Both pairs fought for every point in the third game that resulted to a 16-16 count after Ito ended a 22-shot rally with a smash, the shuttle passing in between Choi and Farro.

The Red Tigers went up, 17-16 on a Farro smash and took a two-point cushion after Malasarte’s drop shot went out of bounds. The Red Tigers scored four of the next five points to complete the win.