Sweeps in opener of badminton tourney
Five pairs opened their campaign in the IT&E Singles & Mixed Doubles Badminton Tournament 2012 with a bang after sweeping their respective foes at the NMBA Gym at the TSL Sports Complex in Gualo Rai.
In the mixed doubles C division games on May 19, Luis Camacho and Lani Santos defeated Ji Min Lee and Hyun Sook Lee in two games, 21-17, 21-18, while Panapa Peteru and Rose Lazaro survived Sang Do Park and Ae Im Myung, 24-21, 23-21.
In the mixed doubles B, all three opening games were decided in two games with Rodwealth Espana and Elna Curate winning over Arie Cordero and Jaja Samonte, 21-15, 21-14; Joel and Alma Ortega beating Brandon Talania and Cris Obaldo, 21-8, 21-14; and Celso Agui and Loyda Ito downing Ramir Belialba and Christy Villaflore, 21-18, 21-8.
In the lone mixed doubles A match, Sam Jones and Ito swept Espana and Shirley Kim, 21-18, 21-16.
In the singles division, four games were played in the opening day with Talania, Kanata Omori, Jane Tupas, and Saul Gargallo recording separate wins. Talania edged Joel Ortega, 21-18, 14-21, 21-8, and Omori triumphed over Jeff Riman, 21-19, 21-7 in the in the men’s singles C; Tupas swept Roma Barlao in the women’s singles C, 21-8, 21-12; and Gargallo slipped past Noli Santos in the men’s singles A, 21-6, 18-21, 21-15.
In Day 2 of the opening week of the IT&E-backed tournament, two of the three games in the mixed doubles C were won after two games, while all four matches in the mixed doubles B were completed also after only two games. The only tiff in the mixed doubles A was played in three games with Santos and Annarose Omori surviving Glenn Bluutjens and Annette Ta, 12-21, 21-19, 21-17.
In the singles division, six players posted wins via sweeps. The list includes men’s C’s Ortega and Midori Obi, men’s B’s Wowie Abuel, men’s A’s Jones and Ferdie Arago, and women’s A’s Hannah Choi.