North Shore rules 4-person tourney

North Shore teammates, Mike Omar, left, and Alfredo Guevarra, dive to keep the ball in play during Game 2 of their finals match against How I Set Your Mother during last Saturday’s Pacific Islands Club Saipan’s Four-Person Coed Beach Volleyball Tournament. (Jon Perez)

The North Shore Warriors survived How I Set Your Mother’s gallant stand to rule the Pacific Islands Club Saipan 4-Person Coed Beach Volleyball Tournament held last Saturday on the sand courts of the San Antonio hotel.

North Shore almost squandered its twice-to-beat advantage against HISYM as it lost the finals opener before making the necessary adjustments in Game 2 to squeeze out a 16-14 victory. Mike Omar, Ryan Camacho, Denise Myers, and Alfredo Guevarra played for the champion team.

HISYM completed a come-from-behind 22-20 win over North Shore in Game 1, even with Toni Yamada already cramping up. Game 1 was a battle of spurts and had several lead changes. North Shore went up 8-2, but HISYM scored seven straight points to steal the lead, 9-8. North Shore again went ahead by three, 11-9, and from thereon, the match was a see-saw affair.

The opener then reached a standoff, 20-20, before HISYM scored twice after winning back-to-back rallies to complete the Game 1 win and force a final showdown.

It was the same story in the rubbermatch with HISYM going toe-to-toe against the No. 1 seed team. HISYM even went up, 14-12, but North Shore dug deep from its arsenal, scoring four straight points to foil its opponents’ upset bid.

North Shore went home with $500 cash plus cases of Pepsi and Magellan gift certificates, while HISYM also won cash and other in-kind prizes. Mister Fam, composed of the Misters (Logan, Tyce, Angie, and Dylan) and CPR Certified, which placed third and fourth, respectively, got gift certificates.

North Shore defeated Mister Fam, 21-19, to get the first finals berth with the semis game also having several lead changes. HISYM eliminated CPR Certified, 15-13, to earn the right of facing Mister Fam in the loser’s bracket semifinals. HISYM then took the second finals berth after a 15-11 decision over Mister Fam, while the latter settled for third place.

Before the playoffs, North Shore went undefeated in pool play to earn the top seeding in the knockout phase of the one-day tournament. The eventual champion continued its amazing run in the one-and-done round to clinch the first finals berth and the twice-to-beat advantage that goes with it.

Meanwhile, limited edition shirts and beverages were provided by Pacific Trading Co. in the tournament that was also supported by PIC Saipan and Bridge Capital.