{"id":396099,"date":"2023-07-17T06:06:59","date_gmt":"2023-07-16T20:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=396099"},"modified":"2023-07-17T06:06:59","modified_gmt":"2023-07-16T20:06:59","slug":"la-hunn-bucks-injury-to-advance-to-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/la-hunn-bucks-injury-to-advance-to-finals\/","title":{"rendered":"La Hunn bucks injury to advance to finals"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>
La Hunn Lam, second from right, poses with other CNMI players and Guam’s Junhyuk Seo during a break in the 2023 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships in Lautoka, Fiji. (OTF)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

La Hunn Lam fought through a painful ankle injury to advance to the finals of the boys 14 division of the 2023 Pacific Oceania Junior Championships yesterday in Lautoka, Fiji.<\/p>\n

After rain wiped out the slate of games last Saturday and early Sunday morning, Lam finally saw action against Tahiti\u2019s Toanui Lee Tham.<\/p>\n

Lam and Tham were teammates in the\u00a0 2023 ITF World Teams Competition Asia\/Oceania Pre-Qualifying Events in Colombo, Sri Lanka last February.<\/p>\n

Lam dominated the game early and often and was headed to an easy straight sets win\u2014his fifth straight dominating performance in Fiji\u2014when tragedy struck with him leading, 5-2, in the second set.<\/p>\n

\u201cLa Hunn twisted his ankle so had to make a decision whether he plays or not\u2026He will go play in the finals but not really in good condition because of his ankle,\u201d said Lam\u2019s mother Joo Lee in a social media message to the Saipan Tribune.<\/em><\/p>\n

Lam won the game, 6-2, 6-2, against Tham but it\u2019s anybody\u2019s guess if his twisted ankle will be ready in time for the finals today.<\/p>\n

Lee said his son immediately went to the physiology tent after his semifinals match to get some treatment.<\/p>\n

CNMI Sports Hall of Famer Jeff Race, meanwhile, said Lam was about to be retired by the tourney physiotherapist before being prevailed upon by him and two other officials from the International Tennis Federation.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt 6-2, 5-2, 0-15 La Hunn called for the physio because his ankle hurt. The physio told him he was retiring him. Two ITF reps and myself came on the court to discuss. La Hunn\u2019s ankle was taped and he won four consecutive points to take the match. It\u2019ll make a very big difference in the opportunities he will get in the next year by making the finals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lam now faces Guam\u2019s Junhyuk Seo after the No. 1 seed defeated Lam\u2019s compatriot and doubles partner Nason Wessel, 6-2, 6-2, in the other semifinal pairing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last Friday, Lam and Wessel tag-teamed to advance to the semifinals of the boys 14 doubles after thumping Papua New Guinea\u2019s John Louie Domalaon and Solomon Islands\u2019 John Kennedy Taufunu 6-2, 6-1.<\/p>\n

In the other quarterfinals of the boys 14 doubles, Ryan Choi and Siwoo Lee advanced after defeating Tahiti\u2019s Toanui Lee Tham and American Samoa\u2019s Aifili Tamasoaali\u2019L, 6-4, 6-4.<\/p>\n

June Yu beat Luke Pierre of Cook Islands, 6-1, 6-4, in a fifth-eight playoff match in the boys 16.
\nSiwoo Lee got the better of Tahiti\u2019s Matehau Sacault, 7-5, 6-2, in the boys 14 nine-16 semifinals.<\/p>\n

Henry Seungwoo Choi lost to Federated States of Micronesia\u2019s Erwin Tayshawn, 3-6, 4-6, in the other bracket of the boys 14 nine-16.<\/p>\n

Hoo Wang lost to Papua New Guinea\u2019s Pauline Hyun, 6-1, 6-0, in the girls 16 nine-16 playoffs.<\/p>\n

Girls 16\u2019s Irin Chung lost to Fiji\u2019s Sina Izumi, 2-6, 4-6, in the playoffs for the ninth-16th spot.<\/p>\n

In another playoff for the ninth-16th spot, this in the girls 14, Lina Tsukagoshi lost to Vanuatu\u2019s Alisha Kanegai, 4-6, 2-6.<\/p>\n

In the boys 16, Simon Tang finally hit paydirt by beating Samoa\u2019s Titus Paul, 6-1, 6-1.<\/p>\n

In the girls 14 quarterfinals, Anne Lee and Lina Tsukagoshi dropped a 3-6, 2-6 match against Vanuatu\u2019s Alisha Kanegai and\u00a0 Ashanti Ligo.<\/p>\n

Aside from Race, Team NMI is accompanied by Colin Ramsey, the team\u2019s assistant coach and currently No. 1 singles player in the islands.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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