Olanda, Maratas advance to finals

Jorge Olanda and Edwin Maratas are a win away from finally nailing a championship in the men’s 4.0 division after advancing to the finals of the 2nd Annual Taga Tennis Tournament Saturday night at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.

Unlike their previous two matches, the top seeded pair didn’t go through the proverbial eye of the needle this time, as they defeated second seeds Ronnie Lacbayo and Mel Pila in straights sets 6-3, 6-1.

Olanda and Maratas needed three sets to survive Mike Roberts and Rommel Tiosejo in the first round and then edged Richard Asuncion and Babu Malayil in a third-set tiebreak in the quarterfinals.

The two have always been ranked No. 1 in the division but have yet to go all the way.

Their opponent in the championship will come from the victor of the semis encounter between the dangerous pair of Hector Gutierrez and Boboy Sergio and tourney surprise Didith Julve and Manny Po.

Julve and Po secured a third round appearance following a hard-earned 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 triumph over John Wayne Kentaro and Beltau Toshi.

In men’s 4.5, No. 1 seeds Roy Pangelinan and Dino Jones oustlasted Lacbayo and Nanding Cajigan in a three-set thriller, 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, to advance to the championship, where they face Peter Loyola and Hector Benitez.

Massimo Flouti and Cristophe Bertin are also safely into the semifinals of the men’s 3.0 division after they beat Noel Dognidon and Roben Leynes 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.

The other half of the draw is not as settled though. The Tinian pair of Archie Monticello and Joe San Nicolas got the better of Yesman Gurung and Hom Roka, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 and are into the quarters. Also advancing was another Tinian pair, Lemuel Arabelo and Doy Ligan, who were 6-3, 6-3 victors over Mario Buensuceso and Masahiro Tanaka.

San Nicolas also saw action with son Joseph in the men’s 3.0 and the duo is already in the finals. The father-and-son pair tripped Dennis Macatangay and Carlo Bicol 6-3, 6-3 to reach the championship round.

They are awaiting the result of the match between the pair of Mark Qiu and Bobby Nato and the tandem of Reggie Reyes and Gani Cortez.

In the women’s open, as expected top seeds Young Son and Kayo Ishii and second seeds Kazumi Imai and Yuko Kobayashi have arranged a finals tiff among themselves.

Son and Ishii drubbed the upstart pair of Cleofe Santos and Joy Minor 6-3, 6-2, while Imai and Kobayashi turned back the upset-conscious tandem of Letty Jones and Delia Johnson 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.

The championship of the men’s open will also be a battle between the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, as Pangelinan and Loyola will duke it out with rising star Ji Hoon Heo and veteran Lope Padilla.

Pacific Trading Co. and Miller Lite are the main sponsors of the 2nd Annual Taga Tennis Tournament with USS Peleliu Club and Yuichiro’s Printing Design as minor sponsors.

For more information about the 2nd Annual Taga Tennis Tournament, please call STA president Roy Pangelinan at 256-7769, vice president-internal Nelia Luna at 288-5151 or 287-0859, vice president-external Ricky Castro at 234-7426, and officers Richard Asuncion at 287-0856, Babu Malayil at 286-9745, and Lope Padilla at 286-9733. Inquiries can also be coursed via email at saipan_tennis@yahoo.com.