5 pairs unbeaten in men’s doubles

  Five pairs got off to good starts in the 2012 Tan Holdings Doubles Badminton Competition after sweeping their men’s doubles assignments over the weekend at the TSL Sports Complex.

Posting perfect records in Week 1 were the Berks Blazers’ Ferdie Arago and Gerry Balarao, Golden Racquet’s Edwin Montoya and Noli Santos and Carlo Dotimas and J.P. Nopia, Shirley’s Badminton Club’s Puy Macario and Chris Hilario, and Saipan Badminton Club’s Jexler Caranto and Oh Im Bog.

Arago and Balarao are entered in the men’s A doubles event and went 3-0 in the opening week. Two of their three victories came via distance. The duo first challenged Shirley’s Robert Reyes and Hilario, dropped the opening game, 22-24, but stole the win after sweeping the last two, 21-18, 21-17. In their second match, Arago and Balarao also fell to Golden Racquet’s Roger Vales and Jojo Savellano in the first game, 15-21, before recovering in the final two games, 21-16, 21-12, to grab the win. Next up for the tandem of Arago and Balarao were Sam Jones and Glen Buultjens and the former won anew this time via sweep, 21-11, 21-10.

Santos and Montoya are also playing in the men’s A doubles and recorded a straight game win over SBC’s Efren Cacdac and Joel Ortega, 21-13, 21-11, and then slipped past the Berks’ Saul Gargallo and John Rivera in three games, 21-13, 14-21, 21-15.

In the men’s B doubles, Macario and Hilario and Oh and Caranto hold similar 2-0 records after Week 1. Macario and Hilario’s first win came against Vales and Savellano, 19-21, 21-16, 21-16 and the second from Taga’s Luis Camacho and Panapa Peteru, 21-17, 21-13.

Oh and Caranto’s twin victories were also via sweeps. They downed Savellano and Vales, 21-14, 21-16, and Camacho and Peteru, 21-10, 21-14.

Also notching a 2-0 card was Dotimas and Nopia, who won in the men’s C singles over AON’s Ferdie Santos and Ramil Belialba, 21-13, 21-12, and SBC’s Ortega and Park Sang Do, 21-13, 22-20.

In other results, the Berks’ Wowie Abuel and Ylac Caracut and Jeffrey Riman and Rommel Bartolome won their respective opening games. Abuel and Caracut prevailed over Camacho and Peteru in the men’s B, 21-12, 21-11, while Riman and Bartolome topped AON’s Celso Agui and Ramil Estrellano in the men’s C game, 21-8, 21-16.

For SBC, Ortega and Cacdac are also entered in the men’s B and survived Shirley’s Brendon Talania and Aries Cordero, 22-20, 19-21, 24-22. Also delivering a win for SBC were Dick Guintu and Mario Diola, who outclassed Golden Racquet’s Edwin Maratas and Narlou Achas in the men’s A, 15-21, 21-12, 21-15.

For Taga, Rodwealth Espana notched two wins in Week 1. He first teamed up with Andrew Galvez and they won their men’s A game against Gargallo and Revilla, 21-12, 21-4. In the men’s B, Espana partnered with Northern Marianas Badminton Association president Jerry Tan and they swept Golden Racquet’s Achas and Lito Mendoza, 22-20, 21-18.

Completing Week 1 winners were Golden Racquet and men’s C Eydie Uy and Jordan Pangelinan, who defeated the Berks’ Bartolome and Riman, 22-20, 21-16.

Results in the opening week of the women’s doubles will be published in Saipan Tribune’s Thursday edition.