Macario leads finalists in Sun Palace tilt

Ezekiel Macario, seen here reaching for the shuttlecock during a tournament late last year, advanced to the finals of the men?s B singles event of the Sun Palace competition after a semis win over Young Sang Yu last Friday at the TSL Sports Complex. (ROSELYN B. MONROYO)

Community Badminton Club’s Ezekiel Macario and nine others advanced to the finals of their respective events in the Sun Palace Hotel Singles and Doubles Badminton Competition 2014 after last Friday’s semis matches at the TSL Sports Complex.
Macario worked out a three-game win over Saipan Badminton Club’s Young Sang Yu in the men’s B singles to march into the title match against Deether Edralin, who got a free pass to the finale after a no-show from J.P. Nopia in the other playoff pairing. Macario pulled off a 21-18 win in the first game and missed the early win when Young bounced back in the second game, 21-19. In the deciding tiff, Macario regained his bearings and eked out another tough 21-19 victory to clinch the first finals seat.

In the women’s C singles, the two semis tiffs also went the distance with CBC’s Nicole Malasarte and Taga Badminton Club’s Roxe Lazaro edging separate foes to set up their title showdown.

Malasarte was paired against fellow CBC member Patricia Abantao and moved a win away from clinching a finals berth after prevailing in the opening game, 21-19. Abantao then extended the semis duel with 23-21 triumph, but failed to steal the win as Malasarte nailed a convincing 21-5 win in the deciding third game.

In the other semis pairing, Lazaro lost the first game to Lani Santos, 19-21, before sweeping the last two, 21-18, 21-15, to bag the second and last finals seat in the women’s C singles.

The women’s A singles finals cast was also completed last Friday after CBC’s Janelle Pangilinan and SBC’s Hannah Choi recorded wins in contrasting fashions. Pangilinan booked the first finals ticket in the division, following a 21-17, 21-19 semis victory over Lanie Bartolome, while Choi had an easier time making it to the title match, as she got a win via default over Jen Savellano.

In the women’s B singles, both semis matches ended after only two games with Dianna Francisco and Toshiko Obata outclassing their respective opponents. Francisco was pitted against Havikka Farro and notched a 21-15, 22-20 win, while Obata dominated Windy Fernandez, 21-9, 21-19.
Jeremy Montenejo of CBC also needed only two games to eliminate SBC’ Allan Lee in the men’s C singles, 21-17, 21-12, and set a finals duel with Shirley’s Badminton Club’s A.J. Ortega. Ortega coasted to the finals via a default victory over John Cano in the other semis pairing.

Meanwhile, four knockout matches were played last Friday to complete the semis cast in the women’s B doubles and men’s A singles.

Farro and Mykki Caracut ousted Cristy Villaflor and Santos, 19-21, 21-19, 21-20, to earn the last semis slot in the women’s B doubles. The winning pair was supposed to meet the tandem of Rowena Sison and Sally Hongsim Im for another rubber match, but a no-show from the latter gave Farro and Caracut the last semis seat. The two knockout matches were set after the three teams tied for fourth place in the elimination.

In the men’s A singles, Edralin registered back-to-back wins to join Andreau Galvez, Jexler Caranto, and Jerry Hibi in the Final Four. Edralin was awarded a free victory in a playoff match against Gary Bandoja and went on to catch the last bus to the finals after a 21-20, 21-18 win over Jordan Pangelinan.

Meanwhile, results of the knockout and semis matches last Saturday will be reported in Saipan Tribune’s Friday edition.