Playing an inspired game, DJ Auto Parts carved an intimidating 5-0 shut out of Lacoste-JBTP in the lower mix category (8-7, 8-4, 8-6, 8-4, 8-0); made to work extra hard in the deciding fifth set Motley Crew Tennis Club (MCTC), eventually sent home packing a stubborn Shelter in category C (8-7, 3-8, 8-6, 1-8, 8-6) and Enjaz-Magic outclassed Gatorade-SCTC at 4-1 in another lower mix category encounter in the elimination round matches in the ongoing 2nd Al-Baik Tennis Challenge, being played at the tennis courts of Al-Bilad and Sheraton Hotels. With the score standing at 3-1 in favor of Allan Basa and Jesse Villaran of JBTP, Rey Polintan and Ruben Alzate found their rhythm as DJ Auto Parts dominated the match from the 5th to the 9th stanza to grab the driver's seat at 6-3. Undaunted, DJ Auto Parts leveled the match at 7-7 with Allan and Jesse orchestrating a blistering 4-1 turn-around to extend the match into a tie-breaker that ended at a lopsided 7-0 in favor of DJ Auto Parts in the first set. Boosted by their teammates win, the DJ Parts duo of Marlon Ordonio and Prince Narra conquered Almond Panganiban and Noel Ugalde,8-4, in the second canto, to set the kill. An exciting seesaw battle dominated the crucial third set, but Resty Cruz and Noor Panizales of DJ Auto Parts controlled the match with steady baseline game to sweep Loret Sanchez and Ranier Arandia off their feet and sealed the match at8-6. Mercilessly, team DJ Auto Parts ravaged for more points as James Ventic and Edwin Calara brushed aside Lito Mosquera and Mark Banaag (8-4) in the fourth set, while Mamano Diaz and Romeo Espino outclassed the JBTP pair of Ernie Villaruel and Boy Baltazar (8-0) that completed a 5-0 sweep. Motley Crew Tennis Club (MCTC) heaved a sigh of relief as MCTC's pair of Noli Viray and Salem Dimacaling overcame the tough challenge of of Caloy Herrero and Ruben Dunque in a heart-stopping and fifth set decider that concluded at 8-6 and 3-2 match clincher. Forced to an extended tie-breaker, Arnel Cruzate and Jeff Villamora proved steadier in the end game and shoved MCTC 1-0 upfront with an 8-7 (7-5) against Rodel Torejos and Rey Gutlay of Shelter in the first set. Shelter bounced back to level the match at 1-1 as Raul Villanueva and Danilo Ong bowed to Ben Micu and Cirino Dozobrado. A determined Gerald Bravo and Jayson Mangahas of MCTC secured the third set with a closely-contested match at 8-6. Shelter's Ronnie Alvarez and Jun Inotantes was too much to handle for Cesar Medina and Santi Arroyo of MCTC in the fourth set in an 8-1 score that tied the match 2-2. Over at Sheraton, Enjaz-Magic jumped upfront with Rafik and Rex Alamgo cruising past Alex Yusop and Andro Magno of Gatorade by 8-4. As Eugene Ugadaz and Darwish Bederi set the kill at 8-5 against Francis Balde and Ernie Capito with a 2-0 lead in the match, an unrattled Gatorade proved a tough a nut to crack as Ramil Abdua and Benedict Hamed outsmarted Arman Bucad and Jay Jacinto at 8-4 to keep their hopes alive at 1-2. In the nerve-shattering fourth set Benjie Arai and Rey Marilao surprised grizzled veterans Rowell Guasay and Froilan Lim in a one-sided 8-2 score to take the set and the match at 3-1. Craving for more points, Enjaz-Magics' Lito De Mesa and Madz Akmad subdued Fayez and Iniego in close 8-5 that ended a final tally at 4-1. Other match results : (Cat. C) Enjaz-Magic def. Zuhair Fayez 3-2, SPTC def. Gatorade SCTC 4-1; (Cat. B2) Jollibee RSTP def. ASTEC 5-0; (Cat. LMX ) Enjaz-Magic def. MCTC 3-2, JRTC-1 def. NCB 4-1; (Cat. B1) JIS def. Lacoste-JBTP 3-2. Organized and managed by the Association of Tennis Clubs (ASTEC) in Jeddah, this biennial event is supported by Al-Baik as the major sponsor. Co-sponsors supporting the event are Prince/Deltaz, Al-Enjaz, Metro Bank and TFC (The Filipino Channel). __
