Tinian beats Saipan in goodwill ping-pong

The ping-pong ball bounced the way of Tinian again in the goodwill table tennis series against Saipan held last Sunday at the ballroom of the Tinian Dynasty Hotel and Casino.

The host team won 18 out of the 25 total matches in the 2004 CNMI Friendship Cup Invitational Table Tennis Tournament where they squared off against players from the Marianas Amateur Table Tennis Association.

It marked the third straight time Tinian has won a goodwill tournament against Saipan since the series started in 2003. But it proved to be the biggest with Tinian Dynasty sparing no expense to host the event.

Saipan players were billeted at the hotel and the spacious venue for competition was all decked out and even had a gallery for spectators.

Two of Tinian’s top players finished with perfect records. Top player Chang Zhen Xue lost just two sets in recording a 5-0 win-loss mark. Chang beat Saipan’s No. 1 Budhi Gurung and also won against veteran paddler Chen Lin Ying.

Cheng Bin was even more impressive and dropped only one set throughout the tournament en route to a perfect record. Cheng surrendered his only set against lanky Su Yong Dong in the very first match for both players.

Lu Jun also was a revelation of sorts for Tinian. He finished with a 4-1 mark and beat Saipan top players Gurung and Chen. His only loss in the tournament came against Su.

Liang Wei Bin, Alfred Yuen, and his replacement Liu Fu Liang won the other four matches for Tinian.

Despite the loss, MATTA players boarded the ferryboat back to Saipan with tons of playing experience and a weekend of enjoying the hospitality of their hosts.

Of the five Saipan ping-pong players that saw action in the tournament, three finished with identical 2-3 marks – Gurung, Su, and Chen.

Gurung beat Yue and Liang but was beaten by Chang, Cheng, and Lu. Su also got the better of Liang and Liu but lost to the same set of Tinian players. Chen, for his part, also turned back Tinian whipping boys Liu and Liang but faltered against Tinian’s top three.

Saipan’s No. 4 player Huang Zhenfa and MATTA president Steven Lim combined for a 1-9 record. Lim sounded pretty upbeat despite being drubbed in the series and complimented Tinian for the royal treatment his players received throughout the competition.

“They may have beaten us black and blue in the tournament but Tinian again played perfect hosts to MATTA players during the series. They are tremendous ping-pong players but even better people,” he said.

Lim also said that Saipan would return the favor when they invite Tinian players for the fourth goodwill tournament sometime in September.

“Our association is grateful for the hospitality of Tinian Dynasty and the friendly sportsman-like attitude of their players and the excellent support of their staff. We hope we could approximate the same kind of hospitality next time around.”