Portside in playoff of National Interclub Finals

MAKATI CITY - Portside Badminton Plaza split its matches in group play and relied on the steady mixed doubles team of Ruel Dihiansan and Gina Juan to march into the playoff round of the Battle of the Courts National Finals at the Rockwell Tent Saturday.

The team, known here as Portside-Cebu, didn't get the breaks in its first team tie as they bowed to Peregrine Manila Badminton Center, 1-2.

The ladies doubles pair of Allaine Arias and Jesselle Solivas lost a heartbreaker of a match to Leitz Altuna and Violy Alipio 10-15, 15-12, 14-17.

The Arias-Solivas tandem reached match point at 14-12 in the rubber set, only to crumble to pressure as the Peregrine side tied the game at 14-all and streaked to a 17-14 win.

Ogie Laranas and Monching Aquino later bowed to the pair of Gary Tulio and Mark Mayo 2-15, 11-15 in the men's doubles. Although Peregrine was assured of winning the team tie, the Dihiansan-Juan went on to rip the pair of Richard Tan and Hayley Go 15-6, 15-7 in the third match of the tie and earn a morale-boosting point for Portside-Cebu.

Portside-Cebu recovered their bearings as they beat Myan's Badminton Center, 2-1, in their other team tie in a must-win situation that meant a trip to the playoff round.

But it didn't come easy.

The Arias-Solivas pair defeated Wilma Francisco and Nori Jane Aurelio 17-14, 15-12, in ladies doubles. But the Laranas-Aquino men's doubles team lost to Deo Pulido and Jimson Consignado 15-11, 4-15, 7-15, to tie the series at 1-all.

With the mixed doubles match serving as the decider match on whether or not Portside would qualify for the playoffs, the Dihiansan-Juan pair rose to the occasion to outlast Alex Bartolay and Ivy Silva 11-15, 15-9, 15-11, and seal the win for Portside.

Cheering the visiting team was a group of Manila-based Cebuano relatives and friends of the Portside-Cebu players. The team was playing pre-tournament favorite Quezon City Sports Club in the quarterfinals as of this writing.