JEDDAH: Team 1901/SPTC advanced to the quarterfinal round after a punishing 4-1 victory against JRTC-2 in their last match in Category C, thus completing a clean 3-0 slate in the elimination round. NCB also pounded Zuhair Fayez Partnership into submission with a flawless display of 5-0 to gain entry in Category MMX, as JRTC-4 clobbered ASTEC at 4-1 to move into the next round of the B2 Category of the 1st Top Cup Team Tennis Challenge 2011. Starting like a house on fire, 1901/SPTC controlled the tempo of the match with the pair of Fritz Perico/Mario Betorio winning at 8-1 against Raldy/Mansour Sani of JRTC-2 in the first set. With Ricardo/Julius Garcia overcoming the challenge of Farouq/Abdullah at 8-5 in the second set, 901/SPTC was looking for a three-set sweep, but Corly Obtinalla/Ali Callanta conceded in the tie-breaker against Jamal/Amin in the cliff-hanging third set. A determined pair of Chet Bautista/Robby Manginsay proved steadier with a hard-fought 8-5 win against the stubborn tandem of Tongie/Rashid that sealed the match for team 1901-SPTC. Playing for points, Marlon Pagsanjan/Ellie Baltar hammered Omar/Podin with an 8-1 win as consolation. It was a double celebration for 1901/SPTC as its Category B2 team qualified earlier to the quarterfinals, and is matched with group leader team Jollibee. In the MMX Category, Team NCB reigned supreme in the eliminations round with a moral-boasting 5-0 win against Zuhair Fayez Partnership that catapulted them to the No. 1 spot. With Gil Tingabngab/Lito Mosqueda prevailing over Rodante/Nilo Salvedia on an 8-3 score, NCB eyed the solo spot with Danny Canoy/Melvin Rama scoring an 8-5 victory against Dante/Manny Bambilla. Much easier than expected, team captain Souhail Hafiz and Eric Diaz had a walkover in the pivotal third set as the Obet Tumale/Rey Tablang pair defaulted. Unforgiving, team NCB ravaged for more points as Ricky Mediavillo/Joey Licyayo scored with an 8-5 over Rhill Macapagal/Ed Umlas in the fourth set, as Loi Escabusa/Joe Marie placed an icing to the win with a one-sided 8-1 tally over a dejected Robert/Leo Perez. JRTC-4 likewise had a heyday as it scored a 4-1 victory over ASTEC in their B2 match. ASTEC zoomed ahead in the first set with Oscar Lovitos/Marlon Pagsanjan getting the better breaks against Mike/Hats Mamainte at 8-6, but JRTC regrouped and bounced to score successive wins with Anwar/Noor producing an 8-4 against Gary Bautro/Jhonny Rodriguez duo, and Ali/Daud Mua delivering for the match clincher at 8-5 against Orly Mamaril/Abe Manzanilla. In the fourth set, Yasser/Faiz Amil contained Rading Bautista/Ronald Ricardo at 8-4, as Faisal/Acmad Sani partnership controlled Jun Tomas/Edwin Apacionado in the final set with an 8-5 winner. Other early qualifiers to the next round include Category C: Teams JRTC-1, Shelter, Pepsi-Bugshan/SCTC, Friday Bulls, Modern Areez-Dabarkads, Jollibee-1 and JRTC-2. Category B2: Jollibee-2, Pepsi-Bugshan/SCTC, JRTC-3, Lacoste-JBTP, Shelter-2, JIS-1, and 1901-SPTC. Category MMX: JRTC-7 and Jollibee-6. Organized and managed by the Association of Tennis Clubs (ASTEC) Jeddah, this tournament being played at the Al-Bilad and Sheraton hotel tennis courts is supported by Al-Kanaah Trading Group, distributors in the Kingdom of Top Cup (France) ready-made hot drinks, as the main sponsor. Co-sponsors are Winalite Love Moon (Anion), Skyfreight Cargo Forwarders and Prince/Deltaz Marketing. __
