JEDDAH — Team Green and team Violet set up Samahang Pinoy Tennis Club's (SPTC) in-house tournament final after beating their respective rivals in the semifinals here recently. The matches are played at the King Abdul Aziz University tennis courts every weekend and the tournament is dubbed as the SPTC Chairman's Cup. Top ranked team Green had to mix it up with fourth ranked team Yellow. Starting out the first set was the 8-0 win by Moi Noto and Mahdi Guna Mahyuddin against Yellow's Pio Coronado and Lino Bautista to draw first blood. In the second set, Zakir Abdulghane could not cope with the experience and mastery of veteran Ben Micu and lost 2-8 to put the match level at 1-1. In the deciding set, Jun Tomas and Ellie Baltar proved the more consistent pair as they survived the scare of Joe Fabia and Hajji Pilongo to secure the win for team Green and grab the first final seat. Second ranked team Violet won against the third ranked team Orange 2-1. Violet started hot with Marlon Pagsanjan and Celso Abella dishing out an 8-0 blanking of their opponents Oscar Lovitos and Tahir Suryadi to go up 1-0. In the second set singles, Lito Bentulan was no match for the Best Singles Player awardee Mario Betorio as he lost 2-6 to put the match level at 1-1. In the third set, Erwan Nurlawis and Hamza Rik Maulion coasted to an 8-2 win against Saiful Anwar and Edmund Bacalando to win the set and the match at 2-1 and book their berth in the final against team Green. After five rounds team Green is on top with a 4-1 score, followed by team Violet also with a 4-1 record, but in the second spot due to a defeat against team Green. In the third spot is team Orange with a 3-2 win-loss record and team Yellow sits fourth with a 2-3 card. While team Red is fifth, Blue is sixth. This team tennis tournament is organized and managed by Samahang Pinoy Tennis Club (SPTC) under the helm of its chairman Marlon Pagsanjan, with logistical support coming from ASTEC Adviser Bernie Soguilon and SPTC Adviser Cesar Quilenderino.
