Dolphins 1 are No. 1 in co-ed badminton

Both Marianas High School teams, along with coach Leonard Manuel, front, third from right, pose with their championship medals and trophies along with Northern Marianas Badminton Association president Merlie Tolentino, front right, and MHS principal Jonathan Aguon, third from left, in the awards ceremony of the co-ed high school 2022-2023 Public School System/TakeCare Badminton Interscholastic League at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium last Saturday. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

With the goal of redemption in mind, Marianas High School Dolphins team 1 is the champion of the co-ed high school 2022-2023 Public School System/TakeCare Badminton Interscholastic League after drowning out the Agape Christian School Torchbearers and their sister team 2 at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium last Saturday.

The Dolphins 1 began their rampage against Dolphins 2 and were evenly matched, but the power duo of seniors Ian Lubao and Kyle Salcedo swept the boys doubles games, 3-0. Terresa Ahn then won the girls singles, 2-1; Salcedo then fell in the boys singles, 0-3; but the girls doubles duo of Abigail Robles and Prapti Mondal claimed a 2-1 win; followed by a mixed doubles win of 2-1 by Lubao and Ahn for a final score of 9-6.

Team 1 then swept the floor with the Torchbearers 1 as they won all events save for one match in the girls doubles for a 14-1 total.

The Dolphins ended their campaign against Torchbearers 2 with a win, 11-4 for an overall total of 34 points against all three opponents.

Joining the Dolphins 1 roster coached by Leonard Manuel were Sernantie Jimenez, seniors Brian Lubao and Daniell Pablo, Shemariah Hicaro, and Angela Maratas.

Dolphins 2—also coached by Manuel—bagged second place with 20 total points. They fell to sister team 1, 6-9; won a close match against Torchbearers 1, 8-7; and lost to the Torchbearers 2, 6-9.

Boys in the Dolphins 2 lineup consisted of Marlon Bautista, Jan Dumagan, Brandon Manacop, and Paulo Quidato. The girls consisted of Seiyul Hong, Zhimin Jin, Vianca Mangulabnan, Enmei Quan, and Angieleysha Punzalan.

The Torchbearers 1 and 2 were both third place with 18 points each. Torchbearers 1 included David Zhao, Louis Chen, Allen Ye, James Fan, Michael Ma, and the girls lineup of Tina Zheng, Ruth Zhang, and Susie Zheng. Torchbearers 2 consisted of Serena Chen, Eunice Xu, Elim Huang, Caleb Cui, John Chen, Stanley Zhang, and Aaron Zheng.

Manuel, who has been coaching for the past couple of years and was part of the NMI National Badminton Team in the Northern Marianas Pacific MIni Games 2022, said in an interview that the Dolphins have been practicing since last September.
“I
made team selections mid-September and began training right after. With the goal of redemption in mind, I carefully planned out intense and specific training plans. For the first few months, we trained three days a week, then began training five days a week starting November. Some days were focused on racquet and game skills, while other days were meant for strength and conditioning,” said Manuel.

Manuel said that the finals against ACS was challenging. “Both teams had to play three games for most of their matches, so they really worked hard to earn their wins. Because the MHS 1 and 2 teams train together, their final matches against each other were pretty balanced. However, our matches against ACS were determined by which player(s) could read the game smarter. Per game, I advised them on what weaknesses to expose, which was pretty difficult to do with having to watch two games simultaneously and run back and forth to each team,” he said. With that, throughout the season, he said the Torchbearers were the toughest teams they faced.

To the team, Manuel said, “I would like to recognize the efforts and improvements of all my players. The training I conducted was certainly not easy, but I’m wholeheartedly proud of them for showing up and fighting through the pain, sweat, and tears to earn their victory. Going on this journey with them allowed me to realize what it takes to be a coach and see them through until the end. I am sincerely grateful to them for giving me this chance.”

He then thanked fellow coaches James Digno and Eun Benavente, as well as the Northern Marianas Badminton Association “for hosting the interscholastic league and providing a venue for us to train. Additionally, I would like to thank my players’ families, MHS, and anyone who has supported us from the very beginning.”