Saipan Tribune

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Friday, September 21, 2012

Undefeated players enter playoffs

Two unbeaten players in the singles and three perfect teams in doubles marched into the playoff round of the 2012 Shirley's Coffee Shop Singles/Doubles Badminton Tournament after last weekend's games at the TSL Sports Complex.

In the women's Class A singles, Hannah Choi swept the round-robin elimination for a spotless 4-0 record and the No. 1 seeding in the playoffs. The top finisher will face winless Malou Malasarte in the semis this weekend. In the other semis pairing, second-seeded Lani Bartolome will duel third-ranked Angie Ito. The two players had similar 2-2 marks in the elimination, but Bartolome won in a tiebreak, as she beat Ito in their lone meeting two weeks ago.

In the women's Class B singles, Toshiko Obata is also undefeated in six games, earning the top seed in her division. Joining her in the semis are Marylyn Montano, Jen Savellano, and Loida Ito, who is ranked fourth with her 3-2 card and will collide against Obata in the Final Four regardless of the result of her last elimination game. Montano has a 4-1 slate with one more game left, but win or lose, she will end up challenging Savellano, which finished the elimination round with a 4-2 mark.

In the women's Class C singles, Julie Lee and Janelle Pangilinan hold identical 4-1 records to take the Top 2 semis tickets in the group. Alma Ortega, who owns a 3-1 record with one game left, may join them in the top spot and a tiebreaker must be implemented to determine the rankings and semis pairings. Rose Lazaro will likely complete the semis cast, as she finished the eliminations with a 2-3 slate and defeated Diane Francisco, who holds a 1-3 card with one match left.

In the doubles, Choi and Malasarte will be seeded first in the playoffs after they posted a clean 3-0 record and they will duel the tandem of Gigi Zapanta and Merlie Tolentino. The other semis pairing will have Marlene Peraja and Bartolome (2-2) colliding against the mother-and-daughter pair of Loida and Angie Ito (2-1).

Ortega and Savellano also has an immaculate slate in Class B to get the No. 1 seeding in the group. The top-ranked duo will battle the pair of either Windy Fernandez and Toshiko Obata or Zapanta and Loida Ito, who hold a 1-3 slate and will slug it out anew for the fourth and last playoff berth.

The teams of Cristy Villaflor and Elna Curate and Cheng Saturno and Marlyn Montano are also tied with their similar 2-2 records and they will collide in the other semis pairing in the women's Class B doubles.

In the women's Class C doubles semis, the top-ranked pair of Lee and Pangilinan (4-0) will square off against the winless duo of Lazaro and Lani Santos (0-4). In the other Final Four pairing, Arlene Naguit and Jane Tupas (2-2) will challenge Francisco and Ortega (2-2).

Semis games will be played today and this Saturday, while championship matches are scheduled this Sunday.