JOOLA Shines In Cebu

Photos courtesy of ASTA Trading

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 CEBU — Nashspinner (Ryan Rodney A. Jacolo) won the Gold Medal for JOOLA in the prestigious Hua Ching - Invitation 2013 "SCHOLAR'S CHALLENGE" held in Mandaue City, Cebu, Phils. last Oct. 25-27, 2013.

A significant part of probably Cebu's biggest Table Tennis event, the Scholar's Challenge was participated by a rich pool of high school and collegiate varsity players from around the country.

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UP THE LADDER
Nashspinner had to clean up his bracket in the eliminations, which included Phil. Juniors teammate and Cebu's upcoming wonderkid J. Nayre. Then, survived F. Mendebel of University of Cebu in the Semifinals to earn a shot at the Championship.

THE FINALS
Nash toppled Bacolod's LOPTTA  bet J. Gubaton in a very tactical Championship match, 3-1.

Set 1. Nashspinner was able to gain control in the onset and maintained a 2-pt lead most of the way challenging the opponent with crisp FH spins. Gubaton tried to keep up with good blocking but got overwhelmed 11-9.

The LOPTTA star made his adjustments in the 2nd set launching an aggressive offense. Going around the ball, Gubaton shot daunting FH spins from his BH side. He also came up with clever dropshots and took the set 8-11. Match even at 1-1.

A crucial Set 3. Whoever takes the set gains momentum. Both protagonists were fired up. Nashspinner went into his flick-and-counterattack routine inviting an FH-FH counterspin rally. Gubaton obliged. A furious toe-to-toe FH spin battle ensued up to deuce. When the dust settled, Nashspinner remained standing at 12-10. He was up on the match 2-1.

Gaining momentum entering Set 4, Nashspinner started lacing his offense with devastating BH spins compounding his opponents woes. He broke away in the set and aced the match with an 11-7 win. JOOLA gets the Gold!

FACT
1. Nashspinner was the lone JOOLA entry in Cebu.
2. He got the Championship in this maiden campaign in the Hua Ching tournament.

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Proudly a JOOLA-sponsored player!

Nashspinner is powered by JOOLA Rosskopf Force Carbon Blade and JOOLA Rhyzm Rubbers.

New Table Tennis Venue in QC

GOOD NEWS TO US MY FELLOW PONGERS!

I wish to share an experience. Two days ago, on Oct. 13,2013, me and my son, Nashspinner, have been to the NEWEST table tennis center in Quezon City —
GREEN PADDLE TABLE TENNIS CENTER.

Location: 3F Jackman Mall along EDSA (Northbound) before corner Roosevelt Ave.
Landmarks: (Northbound) LRT 1 Roosevelt Station. (Southbound) Walter Mart & Muñoz Market.

Inside Jackman Mall, find your way to the 3rd floor using the escalators. Pagbungad mo pa lang sa 3F, you can't miss the green GP logo. Store in front, playing area inside.

In the store I paid P60 to play.

Entering the playing area, I noticed the following:

The Playing Area.
Apple green wooden double walls. Glossy red floor (hindi madulas). Tall ceiling. Strong overhead lights. Moderate aircon (mas mahina kaysa store area). One row of green and white plastic benches along the northern wall for your bags.

Tables.
There are 4 tables.
Table 1 (nearest the entrance door). A VIP Adidas table, separated from the others by surrounds, for multiple balls training and table tennis lessons conducted by the resident trainer.
Tables 2 & 3 are dark green Joola tables.
Table 4 (farthest from the entrance door). A light blue Green Paddle table.

Scoreboards.
Each table has a white plastic deskchair with a Joola scoreboard.

The Crowd.
Homber Tiongson of TATAND was there who played with my son. I also met an Amoranto playmate and his son. I played some matches with a couple of Chinoy HS and college kids. And there were beginners as well. Small crowd but somewhat covered the whole Table Tennis spectrum.

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My First Impressions
GP's playing area is brightly colored creating a light atmosphere while playing. The room is bright but not glaring...... kind to older players with old eyes.

The space is good for close-to-the-table play and permits a decent mid-distance counterspin game. Could be a bit short, though, if you are a hardcore, defensive 'chopista' against a consistent fast looper. Pero muluwag ang pakiradam maglaro dahil sa mataas ang ceiling.

The playing crowd is kind of thin yet considering that the place has just opened, however, the location is really great for folks in QC. Even for pongers in Valenzuela and northwards or San Juan and farther south, just find a train, if you are not driving, and you are only a few minutes away from a nice pingpong game.

Playing in an aircon mall, my P60 at GP also bought me a smoke-free table tennis game. Sulit na rin. Mahina lang ang aircon sa playing area so I was able to run a good sweat.

Now, I have also discovered a row of massage chairs for only P10 not far from GP. Not bad after hitting balls hard for some hours!

Overall, the newest GP in QC is a wonderful alternative as a Table Tennis playing venue here in QC.

From a QC ponger, congrats and thanks to Mr. Philip Uy of GP/Joola.