TIGER Paddlers dominated the Metropolitan Table Tennis Association (Metta) Cup with a 1-3-5 gold-silver-bronze medal during competitions held at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila from May 16 to 19.
The tandem of Celjun Ortalla, Junior Paddlers’ head coach, and Mark Jimenez of the Lopue’s Table Tennis Association (Loptta) squad outsmashed the duo of former UST team captain Michael Paña and Glendo Nayre of Huaching-Donic, 6-11, 11-1, 11-7, 12-10, in the team non-rank competition.
“Paña and I spent a long time playing for UST, so it was a hard fight since we know each other’s game,” Ortalla said in Filipino.
The Ortalla-Jimenez duo came out more aggressively in the fourth set, forcing Nayre to whack the ball outside the opposition’s table for 8-all deadlock. But Paña countered with two straight chops, to regain the lead for the Donic, 10-8.
But the Loptta veterans kept their poise and pressured Paña into three straight errors to finish the set, 12-10.
“The tournament was a good exposure for our players. It allowed us to evaluate them and work on certain improvements,” UST Paddlers’ head coach Henberd Ortalla said in Filipino.
In the team open competition, the UST-powered Huaching-Donic settled for a runner-up finish after falling against the Metta squad via a 0-2 sweep. Celjun Ortalla’s Loppta and Zoren Mendiola’s Shanghai-siopao squad both settled for the third spot.
Huaching-Donic’s Henberd Ortalla stumbled against national team player Ting Ledesma in three straight sets, 9-11, 2-11, 4-11, in the first singles competition of the team open.
In the doubles match, Ortalla and former UST coach Richard Gonzales of Huaching-Donic yielded to Lauro Crisostomo and Joseph Cruz of Metta in a five set thriller, 8-11, 11-8, 8-11, 12-10, 5-11.
In the women’s singles non-rank competition, Girly Apas of UST Paddler’s Team B finished third after bowing down to Jaezl Inginiero of the University of the East, 5-11, 10-12, 11-7, 7-11.
But Apas exacted vengeance in the semifinals match in the Girl’s Singles 17-and-under competition, as she mauled Inginiero with a convincing 12-10, 11-9, 11-2 victory to carve a runner-up finish.
“I was able to read her moves. I just used my spins to beat her,” said Apas.
In other events, Mediola and Celjun Ortalla shared the third spot in the men’s single non-rank competition. with reports from Rodolfo Serafin Jerome T. Lozada
