Close games in mixed doubles B

 Four of the five games in the mixed doubles B went the distance at the start of Week 3 of the IT&E Singles & Mixed Doubles Badminton Tournament 2012 last Friday at the NMBA Gym at the TSL Sports Complex in Gualo Rai.

In the first match, Brandon Talania and Chris Obaldo dropped their opening game against Jeff Riman and Annette Quiambao, 16-21, but won the last two, 21-15, 21-8.

Also recovering from a first game loss were the pair of Oh Imbog and Toshiko Obata, who incidentally slipped past Talania and Obaldo, 22-24, 21-11, 21-17.

The duo of Rommel Bartolome and Lucelle Lampera prevailed in the opening game, 21- against Aries Cordero and Jaja Samonte, who came in late, but took the second game, 21-19. Then in the deciding third game, it was another neck-and-neck match with Bartolome and Lampera escaping with a 21-18 triumph.

The closest duel in the mixed doubles B featured the teams of Wowie Abuel and Jane Tupaz and Imbog and Obata. All three games were won on extra points with Abuel and Tupaz pulling off a 22-20 victory in the first game and a 24-22 triumph in the third. The second game was the longest played with Imbog and Obata winning, 26-24, to force a third game.

For the lone mixed doubles B match won in straight games, Roger Vales and Babes Cielo defeated Son Jae Ok and Emily Vargas, 21-19, 21-19.

In other mixed doubles results, Noli Santos and Annarose Omori and Dick Guintu and Malou Malasarte needed three sets to beat separate foes in the A division, while Joel and Alma Ortega had an easy win in the C division.

Santos and Omori edged Ferdie Arago and Lani Bartolome, 21-0, 15-21, 24-22; Guintu and Malasarte downed Sam Jones and Loyda Ito, 21-23, 21-6, 21-12; and the Ortegas swept Dick Koo and Woo Kyung Bae, 21-11, 21-12.

Joel Ortega was also victorious in the singles play, whipping Panapa Peteru in their C division duel, 21-12, 21-12. Other winners in the men’s C singles were Rommel Bartolome against Simisi, 21-16, 21-11 and Talania over Son Jae Ok, 0-21, 21-14, 21-12.

In the men’s B singles, Abuel and Jexler Caranto swept Vic Reyes, 21-10, 21-17, and Ramir Belialba, 21-18, 21-16, respectively, while the lone men’s A singles match last Friday had Saul Gargallo surviving Rodwealth Espana, 17-21, 21-18, 23-21.

For the women’s singles results, Hanai Choi made short work of Lani Bartolome in the A division, 21-16, 21-6, while Kim Boranah also cruised to a two-game win over Marylyn Montano in the B division, 21-16, 21-17. The other women’s B singles tiff had Loyda Ito eking out a 21-16, 17-21, 21-16 triumph over Merlie Tolentino.

Week 3 preliminary games in the IT&E tournament continued last Saturday and Sunday and results will be published in Saipan Tribune’s Friday issue. After the preliminaries, only four teams/individuals will advance to the playoffs.