Team Green affirmed its dominance over Team Red, frustrating its arch-rival for the second time in the course of the tournament, this time with the championship at stake during their NCB Summer Tennis title game at the NCB Sports Compound here last week. Hamdani Abdullah carried his team at the deciding moments. He came out charging on the net plays, blocking and punching the barrage of passing shots that was thrown within his reach from the equally-determined Team Red's Cesar Quilenderino and Jamael Diampuan. Already a newly-crowned champion in Category C, a day before his team's title match, Hamdani Abdullah took his stride with deft and well-angled volleys, and came out celebrating victory with his team at the end of the deciding third set of the title match. Down at 2-4 after the 6th game of the decider Hamdani coolly cruised to a 40-0 hold-service game after the 7th and his partner Ahmed Al-Sakka consistently did the same on his own service game with 40-15 after the 9th game. It took them past their opponents at 5 games over 4, counting on the sandwiched 8th game that saw them breaking the service game of Jamael Dimasangkay. Prior to the third set, Team Green stepped on an uphill in the second after their first double setback in the initial set, 6-8. That second set saw Team Green's Naveen Pinto and Hani Kordi in cruise control against Team Red's Manie Dela Cruz and Rommel Cardano, starting hot at 3-0, threatened closely at the leads 3-2, 4-3, 5-4 before signing off the set at 8-4. In the first set, Dennis Miralles and Dindo Martin almost got through with a short-lived spurt that saw them surging ahead from 2-4 to 5-4. But Aries Feliciano and Edmund Nicolas of Team Red overpowered the Team Green's first pair and took charge 7-5, and finished them off at 8-6. Team Green and Team Red both lived up to their top billings as first and second ranked respectively in the remaining 4-team cross-over semifinal round of the NCB Intercolors Summer Tennis – with the former defeating Team Blue in the semis, and the latter taking out Team Yellow. Team Blue was composed of Sohail Alhafez, Rene Palad, Marlon Regala, A. Younis. Wael Mirza, Mario Calderon, R. Gulle, and Alvaro Asperilla. Team Yellow included Romy Payong, Joei Liclayo, Jay Payong, A. Rizwan, A. Mohsin, Gary Mrallo, and Mohammed Al Sakka. Organizers are led by Sohail Alhafez as chairman, and composed of other NCB employees as tournament directors: Adan Republika, Ahmed Al-Sakkah, Jun Alunday, Manie Dela Cruz, Marlon Regala, and Rene Palad. The tournament is conducted and managed under the sponsorship of National Commercial Bank, and managed by Ahmed Jelani, the NCB sports club manager. In the singles matches, Hamdani Abdullah romped away the category C title against Dindo Martin 6-0, 6-0; Adan Republica outlasted Yousef Fayez to wrest the crown under category Blo in a marathon 4 hours and 13 minutes 6-7, 7-6, 7-5 finish; and Dennis Miralles outrallied the never-say-die Romy Payong that saw both players grasping for breath after a tournament record of 35-shot rally length, which took the air out of Romy Payongr and pulled Dennis Miralles out of brink from two sets all to a joy-riding 6-2 deciding third set victory. __
