SAIPAN International School clinched the middle school championship of the TakeCare Interscholastic Badminton League by winning three of the five matches against Hopwood Middle School 1 on Saturday at the TSL Sports Complex.
It was a close battle between the two schools with HOP 1 drawing first blood in the boys doubles match as John Austin and John Quidato worked well as a team.
In the first game, Quidato established control early, scoring the first five points for HOP 1.
SIS’ Frank Li and Jacky Lui were nearly silenced but they scored due to errors on the opposing end before losing, 4-11.
SIS played better in the second game of the match but they could not stop HOP 1 from claiming victory with Austin highlighting a five-point run to bag the win 11-7.
For their part, the girls of SIS were more than a match to their HOP 1 opponents.
In the girls doubles match, both teams played as equals and had to slug it out in three games.
SIS’ Julie Chavez and Lina Takugoshi had a dominant start as they won the first game 11-1. HOP 1’s Teresa Ahn and Shemariah Hicaro managed to turn the tide with an 11-8 victory in the second game but failed to maintain efficiency as SIS snagged the final game 11-8 to put their team up on the score board.
Takugoshi then showcased her individual skills as she outperformed HOP 1’s Teresa Ahn 11-7, 11-7.
This was followed by SIS’ third consecutive win thanks to Jacky Lui who defeated HOP 1’s Tyrone Rio-Magnipon 11-5, 11-4.
In the mixed doubles match, HOP 1’s Ahn and Austin outlasted SIS’ Chavez and Li 7-11, 11-3, 11-4, but this didn’t prevent SIS from securing overall match victory for claiming three of the five matches.
3rd place
The battle for third place was intense as well with HOP 2 edging Francisco M. Sablan Middle School three games to two.
FMS seemed to have the wind in its sails as Shaina Malonzo and Crisha Marciano bagged the girls doubles match, 11-9, 11-3, followed by another win by Malonzo in the girls singles match against HOP 2’s Ruth Bautista 6-11, 11-2, 11-3.
But HOP 2 never gave up and were eventually rewarded for their efforts.
Their streak started in the boys doubles match with Marlon Bautista and Jun Yong defeating FMS’ Abdul Mumin and Wasee Anas 11-7, 11-10 while Bautista kept the fire burning with his individual win against Anas in the boys singles match 10-11, 11-2, 11-10.
It was win-or-go-home for either team as it came down to the final mixed doubles match. Thanks to the teamwork of Ruth and Marlon Bautista, Hopwood outlasted FMS’ Malonzo and Anas 11-9, 11-10.
The SIS middle school team members pose for a photo with their coach Fred Guintu before the start of the TakeCare Interscholastic Badminton League championship at the TSL Sports Complex.
SIS’ Lina Takugoshi extends for the overhand return during the girls doubles championship match of the TakeCare Interscholastic Badminton League at the TSL Sports Complex.
