Proudly Cebuano Badminton

I've always been a sucker for badminton tournaments that I make it a point to watch as many tournaments as I can if I'm not playing in one. While most of the tournaments are individual in nature, I still believe that the team format of badminton tournaments is much better. It's a lot more fun and exciting, and it brings out the team essence that is so important in badminton.

The sad news is that it's terribly underrated and unappreciated. While people may think that badminton is an 'individual' sport for singles and doubles, they don't realize the value of team play.

We had the opportunity to witness the national finals of the Battle of the Courts 2 (BOTC) that was held recently at the Rockwell Tent in Makati. The BOTC is an inter-club tournament that brings in the top regular badminton enthusiasts to represent their mother badminton clubs in a team event format similar to the Davis Cup of tennis. Putting icing on this opportunity was the fact that Portside Badminton Plaza represented the Visayas in the tournament. 'So what?' you might ask. The core group of the team is composed of people who I've had the chance to play with at Portside on a regular basis. And when you know that they're carrying the colors of Cebu (the Visayas) in a national tournament being played in Manila, you can't help but feel proud. Bisaya gud ta!

The ladies of the team were Allaine Arias, Jesselle Solivas, Gina Juan and Noeme Orellosa. The guys were Ogie Laranas, Ruel Dihiansan, Monching Aquino and Guelbert Abellana. Knox Concepcion was the coach while Victor Isungga served as the team manager. The team won the Visayas finals in Cebu awhile back and the right to represent the region in the national finals. The format of the tournament is for a club to form ladies' doubles, men's doubles and mixed doubles teams where each team faces off against its counterpart of the other clubs. The team that won two matches won the team tie (or match-up).

Portside drew Peregrine Manila Badminton Center and Myan's Badminton Center in the round robin group play elimination round. Portside bowed to Peregrine 1-2, in its first team tie. Allaine and Jesselle lost in a heart-breaker of a match in ladies doubles to Leitz Altuna and Violy Alipio, 10-15, 15-12, 14-17. Monching and Ogie then lost to the more superior pair of Gary Tulio and Mark Mayo in men's doubles 2-15, 11-15. The morale-boosting first win for the team came in mixed doubles where Ruel and Gina routed Richard Tan and Hayley Go, 15-6, 15-7.

Right after these matches with Peregrine came the battle against Myan's. Portside was in a must-win situation as a loss would mean an early trip back home to Cebu. Determined not to make an early exit, Allaine and Jesselle bounced back to score a straight set win over Wilma Francisco and Nori Jane Aurelio, 17-14, 15-12. Monching and Ogie, however, went on a roller coaster ride as they lost to Deo Pulido and Jimson Consignado 15-13, 4-15, 7-15. Complacency and a failure to recover bogged the pair down as they wilted under pressure after a relatively easy first set against a pair they could easily beat. With the teams tied at 1-match apiece, the stage was set for mixed doubles, the team's most crucial match of the elimination round. And it didn't start out well. Ruel and Gina bowed to Alex Bartolay and Ivy Silva in the first set 11-15. But after making the necessary adjustments and discovering their opponents' weaknesses, the Ruel and Gina took the next two sets 15-9, 15-11. As the last point was scored, the small group of players and supporters erupted with jubilation as if the team won the championship. The feat was more memorable when the team later found out that Smashville-Davao, the other promdi team, didn't make it to the next round.

Finishing second in group play meant drawing the top seed of another group, and this turned out to be Quezon City Sports Club (QCSC), the tourney's darkhorse coached by ex-national player Ricky Morales. Knowing how strong QCSC was, Knox and the team agreed to play the chess match of team strategy. The team decided to field Gina and Jesselle for ladies doubles, while Ruel would pair with Monching in men's doubles. Ogie and Allaine would play in mixed doubles. Portside was in a nothing to lose situation as they were the clear underdogs and had to find a way to score a possible upset.

The gamble paid off at the start as Gina and Jesselle scored what could be the upset of the tournament, a three-set win over the highly-favored pair of Noreen Go and Romie Tan in ladies doubles. A mini-celebration took place when Portside took the first set, but this was silenced when QCSC recovered to win the second. An even louder celebration broke out when the Gina-Jesselle team took the third and deciding set. Up against a team that was expected to score a sweep, Portside found itself in an "unfamiliar" situation, taking the first point of the team tie. The next big question was whether the next gamble of pitting Ruel and Monching together would click. But the hopes of the upset-conscious Cebuanos were fizzled as the pair bowed to Kerwin Tiu and Bogs Simeon, 6-15, 11-15. QCSC quickly doused any more hopes of an upset when Adrian Co and Elaine Lao claimed the mixed doubles over Arias and Laranas, 15-3, 15-4.

Despite the loss, Portside-Cebu stood proud and earned the respect of the Manila clubs. In the end, the team lost to a more superior and better prepared team. Tons of lessons were learned and it was proven again that we could hold our own against the best of Manila. The lack of constant exposure to regular tournaments and thin base of local competition proved to be the team's Achilles heel. What the team lacked in team depth and experience, it made up with a big fighting heart. Truly and proudly Cebuano badminto

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Time-out: Today's topic is special as we commemorate today the 16th death anniversary of my father, Enrique D. Navarro, aka "Popong". We will remember him in a very special way as he, among other things, got us addicted to badminton. May I request our readers to join us in remembering him through prayers. Thank you.

You can reach me at [email protected].