VISAYAS VIPERS CAPTURES HISTORIC WIN IN ISMASHAN 2014 The Visayas Vipers made a record-breaking victory when it crushed reigning Carlo’s Cup champ NCR Dragons at a score of 180-160 in the just concluded Ismashan 2014, which was held for the first time at the San Gabriel Valley Badminton Club II in Pomona, California under the leadership of new PBCA President Mabel Villanueva. The Vipers has consistently placed second only in five of the nine team tournaments where it has competed in the championship round, so much so that the team came to be regarded as cursed. But last Saturday, cursed or not, the Vipers surely sprang out of its second fiddle status and finally captured the gold after a series of frustrating defeats in Carlos Cup Series 2011, 2012, and 2014 and Ismashan Series 2011 and 2013. Like in previous team tournaments, the elimination rounds – especially the fifth round – are filled with excitement and mounting pressures on the teams as they compete to reach the championship round that promises the much coveted title of team champion to the victor. Here is how the teams fared in the first four rounds, each round was up for grabs at 13 points: 1. Round 1 – it was a neck and neck fight between NCR Dragons and CAR Thunders with a score of 7-6, while Visayas Vipers took a lopsided win against Luzon Aguilas at 8-5. Mindanao Warriors on bye. 2. Round 2 – the Vipers’ strong lead continued by replicating its score of 8 against Dragons, while Thunders recovered from its first round loss by winning a close fight against Warriors at 7-6. Aguilas on bye. 3. Round 3 – this was a tightly fought round among the four teams playing, with Dragons and Aguilas winning only 1 point over the Warriors and Thunders, respectively. Vipers on bye. 4. Round 4 – the Vipers suffered a heavy loss against Warriors at 5-8, while Dragons and Aguilas fought another tight battle at 7-6. Thunders on bye. After the fourth round, each team started re-grouping to strategize for the final elimination round. The Dragons, which already completed all its elimination matches, was at the top of the graph at 26 points. In round 5, Aguilas needed 9 wins, Warriors 7 and Thunders 8, to get pass Dragons’ 26 points and secure a place in the championship round, since they were all defeated by Dragons during the rounds that they met - each of them could not risk getting tied with Dragons, else they will lose under the “win-over-the-other” rule in case of a double tie. Vipers, on the other hand, needed only 5 points to tie with Dragons at 26 points and eliminate it, as Vipers won against Dragons in round 2. The last round was a test of true grit as each team fought under extreme pressure to reach its objective. The matches between Thunders’ Jim Moreno/Joseph Bandeleon and Vipers’ Titan Balandra/Kit Laurel in men’s doubles B/D and between Vipers’ Peter Mendoza/Angie Ortiz and Thunders’ Kristian Rodriguez/Anna Flores in mixed doubles B were the most bitterly fought in that round as both ended in three intense games, with the third game in both matches concluding at 14-15 after long and hard fought rallies. Vipers won in the mens doubles, while Thunders won in the mixed doubles. Then there was the last match between Vipers’ Ranier Ratonel/Roseanne McDuffie and Thunders’ Rey Parino/Maya Thona in mixed doubles C which would decide the fate of Dragons, Warriors and Thunders for the championship round. At that point, Warriors already secured 26 points, Thunders 25, and Vipers 27. If Vipers wins the match, Dragons is assured of going into the championship round since having won against Warriors in round 3, it is ranked higher than Warriors under the “win-over-the-other” rule. But if Vipers loses, Thunders will get 26 points resulting in a triple tie with Dragons and Warriors. Vipers, on the other hand, already has a secure place in the championship round since it will still be ahead of the three teams at 27 points. Seeing the still uncertain situation, Dragons team captain Anton Jarata rallied his team mates to cheer for Vipers while the hopeful Warriors rooted for Thunders. But as events turned out, Vipers’ Ranier and Roseanne prevailed at 15-21, 21-16, 15-7, securing Dragons’ shot at another title. The outcome would have been totally different had Thunders won the match and a triple tie resulted. In such case, based on the number of games won by each of the three teams, Thunders would be ranked higher and would, therefore, go to the championship. It would have been a repeat of Ismashan 2013 when Thunders faced off with Vipers in the finals. In the championship round, which is a relay match format of up to 180 points, Vipers took the lead up to 40 points with Dragons behind at 34 points, after Gillian Bachinela and Chris Lopez widened the lead by giving Marivic Austria and Ynna Hughes of Dragons 5 points only. Then Dragons caught up and got pass Vipers at 50-46 when Yuko Houston and Jason Cua scored 16 points. This was not, however, to last long as Vipers Team Captain Titan Balandra and Ketel Galang regained the lead by scoring 15 points against Dragons Team Captain Anton Jarata and Melanie Tabili, resulting in a score of 90-88 for Vipers. Thereafter, the Vipers venom became too toxic for Dragons to withstand as the latter failed to recover from its setback with succeeding Vipers players pounding the Dragons players point by point until the end. Most notable are the matches of Vipers’ Nolan Ancheta and Michelle Castro, who only gave Dragons’ Henry Cawili and Grace Bachinela 4 points; Vipers’ Ranier Ratonel and Allan Fajardo, who only gave Dragons’ Wingard Garcia and Wally Quijano 5 points; and Vipers’ Peter Mendoza and Angie Ortiz, who only gave Dragons’ Bradley Pratasik and Jazzy Ogbac 4 points. Ismashan 2014 was an event to remember as Visayas Vipers made history in PBCA team tournaments by being the first to deny the champion’s title from NCR Dragons and CAR Thunders, who have alternately taken the gold in the past. But can the Vipers hold on to its title? We will find out in Carlo’s Cup 2015. (Aug. 9, 2014)
Posted on: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 19:53:23 +0000
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