Cebu City paddlers rule nat’l meet

Team Cebu City retained its title in the Philippine Open and Inter-Scholasticas Table Tennis Championships at the Buddha Care Academy in Quezon City last weekend.

Team Cebu City, headed by University of Cebu’s (UC) vaunted table tennis team, dominated the men’s team open, men’s and women’s college competition, men’s singles, boys’ high school singles and the women’s doubles competitions.

“We are very glad because we made a lot of sacrifices for this tournament,” Team Cebu City and University of Cebu (UC) head coach Jessica Honoridez told Cebu Daily News. “We did not expect to retain our title this year because of the very tough competition. I’m really proud of the team because we were able to outplay the best table tennis teams in the country.”

Team Makati City placed second while the Table Tennis Association of North District (TATAND) rounded off the top three.

Cebu City’s men’s team topped the competition after edging out TATAND while Makati City claimed the third spot. Team Cebu City’s women’s team settled for third as Makati City emerged on top while TATAND placed second.

In the college division, Team Cebu City topped both the men and women’s division. Second to Team Cebu City in the men’s division was Far Eastern University (FEU) followed by University of the East (UE).

In the men’s singles, UC’s Danel Jay Tormis trounced former Philippine no. 1 Antonio Aguinaldo, who played for Team Makati City, in the championship round. He also defeated another former no. 1 player in Michael Dalumpines of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) in the semifinal round. Aguinaldo and Dalumpines placed second and third, respectively.

Honoridez’s ward from UC, Francis Bendebel, clinched the title in the boys high school singles after he defeated Calabarzon’s player in the final round while Mandaue City’s John Marie Nayre settled for third.

Jerny Kaye Pepito and Elona Dane Tormis dominated the women’s doubles competition.

“We spent the entire night competing because they did not expect us to qualify in every round. They were very surprised how we played against the bigger and taller opponents. I think our dedication to our training became the key to our great performance,” Honoridez said.

According to Honoridez, they had a chance to sweep all events but her players were too tired in the final rounds of the competition since they were made to play the whole day.