 |
|
|
| KFSH TEAM
CAPTURES HITTT CLASS C-2 TENNIS CROWN By Parwaiz Imam |
| RIYADH, August
15, 2000 - The team of King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSH2)
recorded a facile final victory by 34 -19 at the GSO courts over Riyadh Military Hospital
(RKH) to capture the ladies Class C-2 crown in the ongoing HITTT 2000 tennis tournament.
With this claim of the top honor, they proved to the pundits their pre-tournament rating
in this classification, as top favorite was right. The victors scored early with Tess Rapadas taking the first singles set against Davina Robles 8-3. However, the opponents equalized when their youthful and sprightly Joan Bunda proved more consistent and prevailed 8-2 against the affable American Agatha Cambridge.  In the third, confident Vicky Aquino
teamed up with determined Flor Santos against captain Tita Butterworth and Merle
Natividad. The former tandem won 8-4 to increase the lead. In the next, which featured
both teams' best doubles bets, Malou Carido and Tess Rapadas of KFSH2, and Gigi Tendencia
and Davina Robles of RKH delighted their supporters with a display of intelligent tennis.
For most of their match, Carido kept a defensive but reliable stance from the baseline
while Rapadas played aggressively at the net. On the other side, Tendencia tried to keep
the opponents at bay with her topspin baseline returns as Robles covered the net. The
champion pair took the set 8-1 hiding the intensity and closeness of the battle, which had
several sudden-death points. In the final showdown, Santos and Cambridge played partners
as they fought assistant captain Lalaine Asuncion and Amy Arat. The former pair took
control of the match early on closing the match in the 11th game, winning 8-3. Steered by
non-playing captain Aurora Gutierrez, they claimed the top honors. Of the others, KFSH1,
Hammadi, KKESH and SFH were placed third, fourth, fifth and sixth respectively. As the action continues in C-1 category, the race to the top has become tighter as King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital (KKESH) and Security Forces Hospital (SFH) posed close wins. With one remaining encounter to go, the former trails undefeated SFH with two-win one-loss record. KKESH hosted KFSH C1 in a must-win situation as the former now has a chance of making it to the championship. The latter began on a positive note when Fe Roxas, a fitness instructor and the much-improved Rose Santos overwhelmed the KKESH pair of assistant captain Lilia Basilio and Bibian Parulan, 8-1. However, the winning side Evelyn Baldos and Nympha Cosico managed to cut down the losers lead by one when they edged out captain Amor Robles and Geline Suarez. In the third, singles specialist Gemma Sahibil of KFSH went up against Jubie Estero, their top player. The latter who is also HITTT current vice-chairwoman showed strong determination and consistency in their long baseline rallies that kept the big weekend tennis crowd in suspense throughout the match. Sahibil pressed hard with her topspin forehand lobs and maintained her close lead, winning in the end 8-6. However, in the next the combination of Janet Pacleb and captain Nitz Fernandez (KKESH) dominated the against Santos and assistant team captain Au Gutierrez and won 8-2. With the KFSH lead down to measly two points, talented Janet Hicban of KKESH met the rivals bet Venus Alegre in the action-packed final set. Hicban built a sizable lead early on at 4-1 but Alegre found her rhythm midway to close the gap 4-5. As the crowd held its breath in the unfolding drama on the tennis court, both players used all their tennis skills as they defended well against each other. Hicban's consistency at the baseline and her forays at the net proved to be decisive as she pulled away, took the match 8-4 and sealed victory for his team thus keeping the hopes alive for the top slot. The last of the action in C-1 saw SFH defeating King Fahad National Guard Hospital (KFNGH) in a close match held at the Oasis residential compound. Nina Sanchez, who has found form after a sluggish start in the tournament, matched the strong wily play of her KFNGH opponent Lori Tamayo and prevailed 8-6. The next set was another win with captain Babes Vasquez and assistant captain Fanny Minas contending and winning 8-5 against the tandem of assistant captain Jeth Gumaru and number one player Adelyn Aquino. The losers bounced back on the third set when its captain Remy Viado and Jomaimah Ancheta overwhelmed Rose Leong and Agnes Vila, 8-2. They followed it up through to the fourth set when Mel Rabago edged Fatima Basilio 8-6 in the second singles match. With a three-point deficit and going into the last set, Vila and Praxy Boncales of the winning team scraped an all-important win with a score of 8-3 against the hard-fighting duo of Nitz Leis and Carmen Santos thus surviving 32-30 to remain undefeated. The HITTT 2000 tournament is being sponsored by Power Horse Energy Drink, Coca-Cola, Sarawat Superstore, Anseri Cargo and Al Hakbani Establishment. |
ContactPakistan offers FREE
hosting to all community contests.
If you like to sponsor a competition such as sporting events quiz,
Children Essay, Drawings etc. then drop an Email to Webmaster for more
details. We will design complete contest and advertisement campaign Free!!
Let us build virtual community and your business together
