| Bacolod City, Philippines | Wednesday, April 2, 2014 |
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rules Open tourney
Host Lopue's Table Tennis Association had a 1-2 finish in the men’s division while its women’s team settled for second and fourth place honors in the 6th Lopue's National Table Tennis Open held March 28 – 30 in Bacolod City. Richard Gonzales, Celjun Ortalla and Mark Francis Jimenez of LOPTTA Team A dominated the men’s team event with a clean sweep of their opponents during the elimination round to gain a twice-to-beat advantage in the final against LOPTTA Team B composed Rodel Valle, John Paul Gubaton and Angel Cuenca Jr.. The Team B made an impressive performance in the semifinals as they stopped Cebu's Huaching team of Lauro Crisostomo, Johanne Remaneses and Glendo Nayre with a heart stopping victory in a decider, 3-2. Huaching settled for the second runner-up honors while University of Cebu's team of Jessica Jawad composed of Julius Esposo, Val Stephen Jaca, Dannel Jay Tormis and Francis Bendebel placed third runner-up after losing to Huaching, 3-0. In the final match, the two LOPTTA teams decided to play a single match showdown between Gonzales of Team A and Gubaton of Team B to determine the champion. Gonzales beat Gubaton in straight sets to seal the win. Meanwhile, LOPTTA women’s Team A composed of Marell Lagunday and Emy Rose Dael settled for the silver finish after losing to eventual grand slam champion TATAND team composed of current No. 1 player Yanyan Lariba and Sandra Bazar. LOPTTA women’s Team B of Rose Jean Fadol, Juliette Gayoso and Ann Gella Borbon was third runner-up. Lagunday and Dael booked a seat in the finals after avenging their elimination round loss to Makati's Crisanta Abas and Jona Sibal. But the due fell short of their target as they bowed to TATAND in a decider, 2-1. Makati secured the 2nd runner-up spot. The Lopue’s Open tournament is considered in the table tennis circle as one of the most prestigious club competitions in the country. This year’s tournament drew the participation of 32 teams or a total of 115 table tennis athletes.*NAB
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