RIYADH, July 25, 2000 – The Riyadh Military Hospital (RKH) scored a
thrilling victory over King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH) in the
men’s top flight by 34-32 margin in the HITTT 2000 tennis tournament being played at
the King Fahad National Guard hospital (KFNGH) recreation center.
Of the action, RKH team captain Edward Cabanes and his partner, assistant captain Rolly
Barrozo who is also the vice chairman of tournament executive committee beat Nilo Eugenio
and Al Manlapig 8-5. Some fine exchanges on the net gave the victors the advantage.
However, this lead was leveled when Dr. Alaa Kandil won over Leo Gamboa with an identical
score. The doctor’s stamina, patience and smart play worked well against the
opponent.
In the third double match, Nelson De Leon and Cabanes set aside captain Randy Vilan and
his partner, Eugenio 8-4. With RKH now ahead with five points after three matches, Lito
Hoyumpa down Chris Butterworth 8-4 in the next to level the score with one set to go.
In the tense and deciding clash, Rene Matute and Barrozo overpowered Egay Martinez and
Lito Anulacion by 8-6 score. Martinez who is popular in the tennis community for his
friendly and relaxed demeanor on and off the court and Anulacion, a ranked player, made a
spirited challenge. They even led for much of the tightly contested duel. However, they
could not hold against the hard fighting tandem. KFSH in their second encounter of the
week played out 30-all tie match against the host KFNGH. A fine display of tennis by the
protagonist was enjoyed by the sizable holiday crowd.
Dr. Kandil, in the first clash, played against Conrad Lintag, the instructor. The latter
played serve and volley game and he tried to rush to the net to neutralize the
doctor’s consistency at the baseline but Dr. Kandil’s quickness and few unforced
errors paid off giving him the match 8-5.
In the next, Willie Catiis was pitted against Ernie Serrano of KFSH. In exciting base line
rallies, the former showed his strength at the net on many occasions and in the end was
rewarded with 8-6 win.
The veteran Arman Dantes then teamed up with Cesar Esplanada to rout the KFSH pair of
Eugenio and Manlapig 8-0. In the fourth showdown, Vilan and Serrano pulled the team back
into contention with a come from behind 8-6 win over Dantes and the talented Jojo
Dominguez. In the last of the action here, the fans were expecting a victory for the home
side as it led the rivals by five points.
Martinez and Manlapig were pitted against captain Romy Ebrada and the promising Bader Al
Rashed. However, with the steady and reliable performance by the pair of Martinez and
Manlapig, both build a lead that they held on to snatch 8-3 triumph. This was enough for
KFSH to salvage a tie.
The HITTT 2000 tournament is being sponsored by Power Horse Energy Drink, Coca-Cola,
Sarawat Superstore, Anseri Cargo and Al Hakbani Establishment. |
