Lim gets first-hand look at ping-pong in Guam

Marianas Amateur Table Tennis Association president Steve Lim recently paid Guam ping-pong players a visit and witnessed first hand that the sport is alive and well in the CNMI’s southern neighbor.

The night he was able to drop by and play some matches with Guam players, Lim volunteered that there was a fairly sized crowd watching at the Dededo Sports Complex.

Lim also said that the Guam Table Tennis Association has just received a grant from the Oceania Table Tennis Association, which explains the presence of six spanking new tournament-quality tables at the facility.

He also noticed that participation is quite active, probably because a lot of players hope to get a shot at becoming members of Guam’s national table tennis team for the Palau South Pacific Mini Games this coming July and August.

“The GTTA has entered a good phase these days. The transition to the new president, Ed Pabalinas, who replaced the late Frank Gumataotao, has also brought a much-improved training venue as well as excellent equipment courtesy of the Oceania Table Tennis Federation,” said Lim. “These improvements can directly be credited to their new president. This has allowed the active membership of their association to increase from a handful of players to more than 20 active players.”

He also said from what he saw during his brief visit, Saipan players seem to be in equal footing with their counterparts in Guam, in terms of playing ability.

Lim, however, observed the difference in playing styles considering that majority of the players on Saipan, who are Chinese nationals, play the penhold style, while majority of the players on Guam play the shakehand style.

The MATTA president also noticed two very good players that stood out from the group, who may very well be part of the island’s table tennis team bound for Palau—Arnie Arizala and Henry Magallanes.

“Both were training the night I dropped by. Arnie in particular is a qualified coach who will presumably be coaching their table tennis team in Palau, as well as a playing in what could be his final international competition,” he said.

Lim went on to say that Arizala won a gold medal for Guam in the 1983 South Pacific Games in men’s doubles, which easily places the player’s age in the 40s, but according to Lim, Arizala appears to be very fit and young for his age.

According to his sources, Lim also learned that GATTA has extended an invitation to a college team from the University Athletics Association of the Philippines, the country’s version of the NCCA, to help their players prepare for the Mini Games.

During his stay in Guam, Lim also extended an open invite for GTTA players to come over to either Saipan or Tinian for a friendly tournament.

“I got no confirmation from them, except for assurances that they would try their best to come over. In the spirit of reciprocal hospitality, the GTTA also invited the CNMI to participate in their planned invitational this February,” said Lim.

Aside from the GTTA, Guam also has the Chinese Association of Guam, which has its own facility with a table tennis playing area.

Lim said members of the Chinese Association of Guam play in their own facility, separate from the GTTA players, but the two sets of players sometimes do get together to play each other.