TATAND-MARCLYN
Champions: Nashspinner and Marcos De Jesus.
Photo courtesy of Taytay Table Tennis Club
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The tournament format was Singles-Doubles-Singles with a lot of teams fielding lefty-righty pairs — ideal for the Doubles event. But for both righty champs, what they lacked in the lefty department they certainly made up for with having two different rackets and entirely different offensive styles fused together — Nashspinner's all-rubber attack and Marcos' dizzying short pips. The duo was formidable as they shot down opponents climbing to the top one by one.
Early Stages
In the Eliminations, the first to go were TATAP's Walden Ledesma and lefty Princess Tambo, then the Adamson University pair defaulted. Team Binangonan threatened in the Doubles event but lost 3-2.
In the Quarterfinals, Nashspinner beat UST's lefty Ablanque in the 1st Singles event. In the Doubles event, Ablanque and his veteran partner Leo De Leon tried to come back but fell short in the end with a 3-2 card.
Semifinals
It was a tough Semis against TATAP!
1st Singles Match
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Nashspinner (TATAND) x Valle (TATAP). The TATAP bet drew first blood and took the 1st set.
Nashspinner jumpstarted Set 2 scoring four quick points and putting up a comfortable cushion. Contented with trading points as they approach the endgame, Nash suddenly got another three straight points, leaving Valle behind. He then closed the set with a beautiful mid-distance fast loop to even up the match at 1-1.
Going for an aggressive start in Set 3, Nash got three quick attack points and led early. Valle tried to mount a 3rd ball offense but the kid held fast, receiving with sharp BH flicks. The veteran had some brilliant blocks towards the end but eventually succumbed to the relentless pounding from the youngster. TATAND led 2-1.
The 4th set started slow. Then, in midgame, Nash got 1 in from a heavy FH cross off a chop. Valle sued for time. Off the timeout, Nashspinner spurted with four straight points and his opponent gave away two more errors as the game ended. Nash scored his winning shot with a classic chop-and-spin combination taking the set and the match.
The 16-year old high school senior scored an important upset against the veteran. TATAND was up 1-0 in the team standing.
Doubles Match
The TATAP pair of Valle and Muse seemed to have an edge on the TATAND duo Nash and Marcos.They were always one step ahead with TATAND always on their tail. Muse was quarterbacking TATAP very skillfully and also delivering a lot of killing blows. The match went all the way to the fifth set, but TATAND lost with several crucial errors in Set 5. Both teams stood even at 1-1.
2nd Singles Match.
Marcos De Jesus (TATAND) x Muse Balatbat (TATAP). Muse started quick and was hitting very well in the open. She led 9-5 and was on the verge of breaking the first set. Marcos baited her with long chops but her spins kept on dying at the net, courtesy of his short pips. Game tied at 9-9, Muse tried looping his chops but Marc, with his tall frame, was already waiting above the loop and bombed her with flat drives and stole away the set.
From L-R: Rodney, Nashspinner and Muse
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In the 2nd set, Muse must have caught an allergy to pimples. Marc's dead pushes and flicks were really taking their toll on the lady. Her attack slowed down and Marcos snatched the offensive. Serving from his BH, his attack patterns culminated in a punishing full-swing flat drive. Marc again took the set. TATAND led 2-0.
Muse went for broke in the 3rd set. She forced long fast balls and drove a hole into Marc's defenses. She got her deadly BH spin back into action, scored several crucial points, and held on to the match at 1-2.
Set 4. Muse had adjusted. She rained long sharp spins that got Marc off-balance. Muse demonstrated she owns a fast, low-arc, deep crosscourt FH spin which she can shoot from her BH side like a wicked javelin.With her corner's strategy working, she tied the match at 2-2. Suddenly TATAND's grab on the the Finals match was slipping away.
It was a cut-throat set for the finale. The other Semis match was done and San Beda's J. Ortalla and Z. Mendiola were waiting in the wings. Marcos and Muse were both soaked and fired up. The TATAP corner was one big cheering squad. Nashspinner was the TATAND solo cheering squad. All eyes on table #2, everyone was hardly breathing.
True to their form, both players stuck to their respective winning shots in the previous sets. Muse immediately initiated a fast exchage, going for the hard kill. Marc, on the other hand, had perfect reception playing his slow, dizzy FH flicks brilliantly. It was a toe-to-toe battle right up to 6-6 when Marc found his mark in Muse's open right side every time she goes around the ball for a fast loop. His BH push was killing her again and he broke away in the endgame, taking the set and winning the match. TATAND was in the Finals!
The Winners of the TaytayTeam Event 2014
Photo courtesy of Taytay Table Tennis Club
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Finals.
TATAND took on San Beda College.
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1st Singles Match
Nashspinner (TATAND) beat Ortalla (San Beda College), 3-0.
Doubles Match
Nash was still hot from his first match win. The TATAND duo proceeded to hammer the SBC pair, and almost ran away with straight sets, but got only as far as 2-0.
In Set 3, with TATAND was inches away from the Gold, SBC clawed back point by point and, almost surprisingly, won the set.
In Set 4 TATAND was forcing the issue. The SBC tandem, Jong and Zoren, thriving in the confusion, turned the table on Nash and Marc, taking the set again at 2-2.
The ensuing rubbermatch was a battle of wits and tactics. The lead kept on changing up to the middle game. Sensing blood, the SBC pair jumped the gun and chased after a hasty kill. TATAND opted to slow down in the endgame, messing up the SBC pair's timing and broke their magic. After that they fell prey to the pimples' wiggling balls, and Marcos bagged the winning shot with his signature FH flat drive.
TATAND won 3-2 to become the Champions!
The TATAND-MARCLYN coaching staff flanking the champions.
L-R: George, Nashspinner, Marcos, and Homber
Photo courtesy of Taytay Table Tennis Club
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