Close win for Shirley’s BC

 Shirley’s Badminton Club pulled off a tough 17-16 victory over the Berks Blazers in the other opening week pairing in the 5th Annual Traders Insurance Badminton Team Tournament over the weekend at the TSL Sports Complex.

Shirley’s BC prevailed in six of the 11 events played in Week 1 with four of them coming via sweeps. The pairs of Sam Jones and Joseph Santos, Brandon Talania and Jexler, Windy Fernandez and Roma Barlao, and Talania and Barlao delivered straight game victories for Shirley’s, while the two other wins came from the duo of Jaja Samonte and Elma Labuson and singles player Malou Malasarte.

Jones and Santos swept the Berks Blazers’ Saul Gargallo and Gerry Balarao in the men’s doubles B, 21-18, 21-13, while Talania and Jexler played in the men’s doubles C and finished off Roman Caracut and Rommel Bartolome early, 21-12, 21-10. Talania earned his second victory after teaming up with Barlao in downing Ylac Caracut and Jane Tupaz in the mixed doubles C, 21-17, 21-15.

Barlao played in the women’s doubles C with Fernandez and they won over Tupaz and Arlene Naquit, 21-6, 21-5. In the women’s doubles B, Samonte and Labuson needed three games to thwart Lot Abuel and Annette Quiambao, 18-21, 21-12, 21-15.

One of the two singles matches also went the distance with Malasarte outclassing Lucille Lampera in the women’s singles, 21-16, 17-21, 21-9. The Berks Blazers took the other singles match with Ferdie Arago sweeping Jerry Hibi, 21-9, 21-11.

The losing club got off to a good start in the pairing when Aguda and Wowie Abuel prevailed in the first match, outlasting Hibi and Chris Hilario. Aguda and Abuel dropped the first game in the men’s doubles A, 19-21, but eked out the come-from-behind win after ruling the last two games, 23-21, 21-16.

In the women’s doubles A, the Berks Blazers also finished on top with Quiambao and Marlene Peraja easily defeating Malasarte and Fernandez, 21-15, 21-12.

In the mixed doubles A, Arago got his second win when he joined forces with Lanie Bartolome in sweeping Ezekiel Macario and Samonte, 21-7, 21-11. The Berks Blazers went 2-1 in the mixed doubles as siblings Wowie Abuel and Lanie Bartolome triumphed over Labuson and Glenn Buljenns in mixed doubles B.

Only the Berks Blazers-Shirley’s and TAGA-Golden Racquet pairings were completed last weekend, while Saipan Badminton Club and TAGA finished only three matches.

SBC swept the first three games with Oh Imbog and Pastor Kok Pang winning the initial pairing after cruising to a 21-17, 21-11 victory over Jerry Tan and Rodwealth Espana in the men’s doubles B. In the men’s doubles C, Joel Ortega and Oh An Yeol survived Luis Camacho and Panapa Peteru, 14-21, 21-15, 21-14, while Kim Boranah and Lee Yun Yee edged Elna Curate and Rose Lazaro in the women’s doubles C, 18-21, 21-12, 21-18.

Action in the team tournament will resume this weekend.