Husband and wife spoil Saipan sweep

Angelo Lin chases the shuttlecock near the net during his and wife Lykki’s mixed doubles title match against Andreau Galvez and Hannah Choi during the 2014 NMBA-GNBF Friendly Competition last Saturday at the TSL Sports Complex. (Roselyn B. Monroyo)

The Lins topped the mixed doubles event of the two-day tournament after outclassing Saipan’s Andreau Galvez and Hannah Choi in last Saturday’s finale, 21-18, 12-21, 21-18. Angelo countered Galvez’s strong smashes and cross court hits, while Lykki scored on several net shots and good placements to beat the top singles players of Northern Marianas Badminton Association.

Angelo and his wife played in the finals the same night the former and his men’s doubles partner Sunardi Li fell to NMBA’s Glenn Bluutjens and Sam Jones in the finals. The NMBA bets swept the visiting Guam players in the championship game, 21-18, 21-18 to give the host the first win in the friendly competition. NMBA then recorded its second victory after Ferdie Arago defeated Sunardi in the men’s singles finals, 21-11, 21-17. The men’s singles finale was played a few minutes after the Lins secured the mixed doubles crown.

The Lins and Galvez and Choi arranged their title match after topping their respective groups, following a round-robin elimination. The husband and wife tandem won over GNBF’s Paolo Gozum and NMBA’s Janelle Pangilinan and GNBF’s Cloyd Rosas and Malou Malasarte, while Choi and Galvez prevailed against NMBA’s Ferdie Arago and Lanie Bartolome and Bluutjens and Jen Savellano.

The mixed doubles title tiff was a back-and-forth affair right at the get-go before the Lins gained headway late in the game, 20-16. However, two short returns near the net from Lykki kept Galvez and Choi’s hopes alive before Angelo ended the game with smash from the backline and Choi hit back with a wide shot to the right sideline.

In the second game, the NMBA players recovered and zoomed to a 5-0 lead to take control. Choi kept her composure against Lykki’s net shots, while a cramping Galvez got a second wind and peppered their foes with smashes with the last one sealing the game for NMBA. Galvez dropped the shuttlecock to the backline, catching the Lins off guard as they were anticipating a short shot.

With the match even, the Lins knew it is important to dictate the tempo of the duel early in the deciding game and they did what the doctor ordered, nailing a 6-1 advantage. Several errors from the visiting players allowed Choi and Galvez to close the gap, 7-8, before Lykki scored two of their team’s last three points off a drop near the net and cross to the backline to gain more cushion at the break, 11-7. The Lins got the other point off Choi’s wide return.

At the resumption of the third game, the Lins retained the lead and moved one point away from securing the title, 20-16, but failed to close out the match in the ensuing plays, as Lykki committed back-to-back errors with her returns hitting the net. Now down by only two, Galvez served and after the opposing teams traded shots twice, Lykki made up for the earlier booboos, leaping from the left backline for a smash that Choi failed to return.

Meanwhile, Arago managed to sweep Li in the last match of the tournament despite playing six matches in one night.

Showing no signs of fatigue from his earlier encounter with Guam’s John Conducto on Court 1, Arago reported for the match on Court 2 about 30 minutes later to face a rested Li. Arago went on to score the first two points of the match off a shot near the net and Lin’s strong return and took an promising 11-4 advantage at the break. The NMBA player continued hitting a variety of shots in the second part of Game 1, while the Guam bet was still finding his rhythm, allowing the former to build a 20-8 advantage. An Arago service error, followed by two shots that hit the net kept Li in the game before the former went back to his strong suit, a smash to the backline to close Game 1.

After the relatively easy win in Game 1, Arago faced a tougher opposition in Game 2, as Li also showed his foe with a combination of smashes and drop shots. Li threatened Arago, 17-18, after a cross before the latter notched two straight points off a drop to the backside and a smash to move one point away from wrapping up the match. Arago served for the match point and after Lin moved toward the net for the return, the latter tried to go back to the backline but was a few steps slower and failed to receive the former’s smash.