By Orly Mamaril
& Chet Bautista 

JEDDAH – When the 23rd ASTEC Team Tennis Tournament 2012 drew to a close at the tennis courts of Hotel Al-Bilad here recently JRTC was forced to play four sets before finally winning the HMX title against a consistent team RSTP, while in the MMX category RSTP reigned supreme over JBTP-Lacoste, needing only three sets to lift the crown. In the LMX category, SCTC-Pepsi, fresh from its championship win in category B2, rallied from 0-2 down to grab the champion’s trophy from RSTP.
Jeddah Ranao Tennis Club (JRTC) picked a right match-up as its pair of Allan Beltran and Maarouf Pantaran subdued RSTP’s undefeated pair of Jerome and Ani with an 8-6 score for a 1-0 lead. In the second set, singles specialist Ely Mangca was too much to handle for Juvy Tagudin as their game ended with an 8-3 rout to give team JRTC a commanding 2-0 lead. The third set saw the resurgence of team RSTP, as captain Francis Idjao with Jun Ouano took matters in their own hands to win over a fighting tandem of Marcial Barro and Arnold Tavera with an 8-5 score to put their team within striking distance of the championship. In the crucial fourth set, with team JRTC leading 2-1 and with a four-statistical point cushion, Alimbsar Umpa and Lantong Patara needed to play a heads-up game over a pressured RSTP duo of Domelo Gesta and Bok Gregorio. It was all-over at 5-4 and team JRTC was declared champion due to win via points earned.
In the MMX Category, Red Sea Tennis Players (RSTP) team captured the title against a surprised Jeddah-based Tennis Players (JBTP) team. RSTP took the first set on an 8-1 win by Tony Mirasol and Ron Valdez over a stunned Celso Salenga and Ador Olivo. JBTP countered with Mhedz Mabang and Cliff Castaneda recording an 8-3 victory over Ramil Abdua and Joel De Castro to level the score at 1-1. Housam I-Basha and Domelo Gesta stormed past Ely Mallari and Egay Go with an 8-2 set to give RSTP the lead at 2-1 with an eight statistical points advantage. It was all over at this point since the fourth set pair of Ramon Monterde and Randy Martin needed only a point to claim the championship which they did over Faiz Amil and Cromwell Marzo at 1-3. That single point was enough for them to be declared champion in the MMX Category.
It was a sudden turn of events in Category LMX that gave Saudia City Tennis Clubs SCTC-Pepsi Jess Batingal team the coveted trophy. Trailing 0-2 in the match with the 1-8 loss of Ramil Abdua and Mhouz Martinez from RSTP’s Ramzi and Housam I-Basha and the tie-break 7-8 setback of Ronnie Santos and Froi Lim to Ramon Monterde and Joel Quimpo in the first and second sets, Amin Paraji and Deddy Taryono’s third set win of 8-1 over Vic Alvaran and Jimmy Abat shifted fortunes in their favor and put SCTC within striking distance at 2-1 in the match. With their new lease on life, Haroun Ratag and Henry Siazon never wasted a moment in posting an 8-3 win over Cris Balles and Jonathan Contreras to tie the match at 2-2 and win via points 24-20 to grab the championship.
This tournament was organized and managed by the Association of Tennis Clubs, Jeddah (ASTEC) with the support of Tony Kassis and Amin Malik of Deltaz Marketing and Prince.