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Galvez leads opening day winners in Sun Palace tilt
Andreau Galvez, seen here serving in an NMBA tournament late last year, needed three games to win his opening match in the Sun Palace competition against Glenn Bluutjens at the TSL Sports Complex. (ROSELYN B. MONROYO)
Inaugural season finalist Andreau Galvez was among the winners in the opening day of the Sun Palace Hotel Singles and Doubles Badminton Competition 2014 held last Friday at the TSL Sports Complex.
Galvez, who advanced to last year’s finals against men’s A singles eventual champion Ferdie Arago, drew Glenn Bluutjens in his first assignment of the season and needed three games to break into the win column. He cruised to a 21-13 victory in the first game, but missed the sweep when Bluutjens eked out a nail-biting 21-20 triumph in the second game. Then in the deciding third game, the younger and faster Galvez recovered with a 21-14 victory.
Three other singles matches were played in Day 1 of the annual tournament. In another men’s A singles tiff, Deether Edralin swept Jordan Pangelinan, 21-15, 1-9, while in the men’s B singles, JP Nopia bounced back from an early loss to win his first game, 18-21, 21-17, 21-16. Havikka Farro also rallied past Mykki Caracut in three games in the women’s B singles. Farro dropped the opener, 18-21, but prevailed in the last two games, 21-12, 21-17, to grab the victory.
Completing the Day 1 schedule in the Northern Marianas Badminton Association-seasoning opening competition were the five doubles matches in three classes.
In the women’s B doubles, Cheng Saturno and So Young and Toshiko Obata and Windy Fernandez downed separate foes. Saturno and Young lost to Loyda Ito and Shirley Kim in the opening game, 11-21, but managed to steal the win after dominating the last two games, 21-16, 21-10. Fernandez and Obata recorded a contrasting win, needing only two games to top Marylyn Montano and Lucelle Lampera, 21-18, 21-15.
In the lone women’s doubles C match in Day 1, Roxe Lazaro and Emily Vargas also took only two games to beat Gigi Zapanta and Lani Santos, 21-16, 21-17.
In the two men’s B doubles matches, Aries Cordero and Cris Hilario and Young Sang Yu and Jong Min Lee earned separate victories. Cordero and Hilario got a free win (via default) over Celso Agui and partner, while Young and Lee labored a 21-16, 17-21, 21-18 triumph over Jojo Savellano and Narlou Achas.
