Clashes intensified as rivals jostled their way to the knockout phase of the 18th ASTEC Team Tennis Tournament at the tennis courts of Al-Bilad Hotel, Sheraton Hotel and Jeddah International School. NCB surged to the top of the Lower Mix Category standing by edging out Jeddah Ranao Tennis Club (JRTC 1) 3-2, and blanking King Abdul Aziz Medical City (KAMC), 4-0. Zuhair Fayez Partnership (ZFP) buried KAMC with a 5-0 avalanche while Jollibee-5 edged JRTC-2, 3-2. In a battle of unbeaten teams, Jollibee-2 routed FTC Lacoste-1, 4-1, to top Category B2 Group 1. FTC Lacoste-1 earlier crushed JR@, 4-1, for its second win. JR@, however, dominated Smash Magic, 4-1, to remain in contention for a quarterfinal berth while hurling its foe to the bottom of the group. The Saudia Team, composed mostly of Saudi players, encountered rough sailing on its maiden flight absorbing a 1-4 pounding from Jeddah International School Tennis Club (JISTC). Shelter kept its spotless record by beating FTC Lacoste-2, 3-2 for its third win in as many games to lead Category B2 Group 2. FTC Lacoste-2 in its succeeding match avenged its loss by whipping JRTC, 3-2, while JRTC shoved ASTEC B2 team to the bottom of the field with a 3-2 win. Meanwhile, in Category C Group 1, JRTC-1 widened its lead by collecting two wins during the week at the expense of ASTEC and Gabay OFW in an identical 3-2 score. Filipino Achievers in the Middle East (FAME) barged into the win column of Category C Group 2 by clipping Flying Eagles, 3- 2. JRTC-2 remained on top with a 3-0 slate. In Group 3, JISTC outlasted SETE, 3-2 as idle Jollibee-1 remained on top of the standing with a 3-0 record. Jollibee-6 shut out JIS-2, 5-0 to lead Category B1 with two wins in two outings. JIS-1 crushed JCC, 4-1 and overwhelmed JIS-2 in similar fashion to amass two victories during the week and remain within striking distance of Jollibee-6. In the Ladies Division, FAME-1 handed Saudia City Tennis Club(SCTC) a taste of defeat in a 2-1 decider. FAME-1 shared top spot in Category C with the erstwhile unbeaten Saudia netters with 3-1 win-loss card. JISTC-5 and KAMC blanked Zuhair Fayez and FAME-2, respectively to keep their semifinals quest on track while burying their adversaries to the bottom of the heap. In the Category Super Mix B (B1L/B2M), Pepsi overcame SCTC, 2-1, to lead Group 1 unbeaten with a 2-0 tally. SCTC recovered by edging out Fuchs, 2-1 to remain in second place while leaving its opponent trailing the group. Friday Tennis Club continued its unbeaten run with a 2-1 victory over KAMC to lead Group 2 of the Super Mmix B category. KAMC kept its hope alive by nipping NCB-JIS-8 in a third set tie-breaker while handing its rival its second loss in two matches. In the lone Super Mix A (B2L/C-M) match, JISTC whitewashed ZFP to share similar 1-0 record with idle Smash Magic. ZFP suffered its second loss in as many matches. The year-end 2009 tennis tournament of ASTEC is co-sponsored by Mohammad Al-Samman Construction (MSC) with the support of Sky Freight Forwarders and __
