KUWAIT CITY, Jan 18: The father and son tandem of Tim and Jon-Jon Torres put on an excellent show this week to emerge as champions in Men’s Doubles A event of the recently concluded two-day 1st Knight-Pastor Badminton Tourney,  by the Filipino Badminton Association in Ahmadi (FBAA) headed by Ronald Margate, at the KOC Sports Center in Ahmadi, Friday.
There were five categories in this tournament, played in a doubles format with the Men’s A event scoring system seeing the games going up to 21 points. On the other hand, Men’s B & Ladies A, Men’s C & Ladies B and Ladies B were set for 15 points while the Beginners (Kids) were required to finish the game in 10 points and no slide of 2 points in case of a tie was applied to all the classes .

Men’s A
In Men’s A championship, the matches saw the father and son tandem of Tim and Jon-Jon Torres show a lot of harmony on the courts when they overwhelmed the good pair of Jeb Elamparo and Tony Osea with over the edge and solid smashes that caught their rivals unawares and finished the game in 2 easy sets 21-19, 21-17.Their rivals put up a lot of resistance in the first set but the second set saw the champions not give anything away to take the crown.
Earlier, the knock out game saw Leeforp “Da Flash” Alonzo and July Espiritu made to sweat and fight for every point to edge Ron Margate and Jerry Labagnoy after pulling back from a first-set loss to take the last 2 sets 15-21, 21-19, 21-18.After winning the first set it looked like it was going to be easy going for Margate and Labagnoy but their rivals had other ideas and this they showed by fighting all the way and pushing the match into a deciding third set before taking the match.
The initial stages of the elimination matches witnessed  Tim and Jon-Jon keep a keen eye on the throne when they tamed Jeb Elmaparo and Tony Osea 21-15, 21-16 while Leeforp Alonzo and July Espiritu were not in the right mood for a tight match when they were defeated by Jeb and Tony in the knock out game 20-21, 14-21. The losers fought for every point in the first set but seem to have lost all their energy in the close set and wilted in the second.

Men’s B & Ladies A
Ryan Aguilar and Jeorgie Lorenzo walked home with the Men’s B & Ladies A title when they outlasted Romy Herrera and Dianne “Pretty Face” Lapason in a close 3-set match 14-15, 15-8, 15-12.In this match also the first set was very close with neither set giving way before Herrera and Lapason finally prevailed.If they though they were going to have things their way in the second set, their rivals had different ideas as Aguilar and Lorenzo found their feet to dominate their opponents and take the trophy after easily winning the second and third sets.
Meanwhile, in the knock out games which took place earlier, Ryan Aguilar and Jeorgie Lorenzo prevailed when they put their best foot forward and wasted no time to brush aside Tony Elamparo and Anie Blouin 15-8, 15-9 while Romy Herrera and Dianne Lapason worked hand in hand on the courts and overcame Rio Ferrer and Vince Vidal in 2 back to back  sets 15-13, 15-13.
While the first match saw Aguilar and Lorenzo giving nothing away and dominate the proceedings in a big way , the second game was very close as both the sides fought until the very end of each set before the winners could progress to the next round.

Ladies B
In Ladies B event, there was a vast improvement in the performance of Abi Sedik and Cecille Ibon when they bagged the crown  as they fought wisely to edge Anne Diaz and Nelia Torres in a seesaw battle 15-8, 12-15, 15-14.
Sedik and Ibon seemed to find things to their liking when they dominated the first set to win easily after giving away only eight points but they did not realize the determination of their opponents who fought back in the second set to push the match into a third deciding set. The last set was the best of all as both the sides fought their hearts out and there were huge rallies for each point with their supporters cheering their efforts. Finally it was Sedik and Ibon who held on to their nerves to win the set, match and the crown.

Beginners (Kids)
The most cheered class, the Beginners, saw the tiny little kids taking a strong hold of their racquets. Miguel Lorenzo and Cody Abad’s passion for the game drove them to overcome the good pair of Bradley Hao and Aby Elamparo in a close match in the championship finals 10-8, 10-9.In spite of their young age both the sides showed a lot of class so the senior players better watch out as these budding starts are going to be around for a long time and if they continue with the same standard of play in the coming years, they are likely to do very well in the senior format when they get there.
Meanwhile, earlier in the tournament the knock-out games witnessed Miguel Lorenzo and Cody Abad  made to sweat before they could overcome the tough pair of Ayam and Hamie in a seesaw battle 10-9, 9-10, 10-9. Neither side gave anything away as the score sheet indicates and until all the sets had been fought out no one could really predict who would take the match.

Award Recipients:
Men’s A
Champion    Jon-Jon & Tim Torres
1st runner-up    Jeb Elamparo & Tony Osea
Men’s B & Ladies A
Champion    Ryan Aguilar & Jeorgie Lorenzo
1st runner-up    Romy Herrera & Dianne Lapason
Men’s C & Ladies B
Champion    Aleli Knight & Hans Ita-as
Beng Pastor & Cathy Lesaca
Ladies B
Champion    Abi Sedik & Cecille Ibon
Anne Diaz & Nelia Torres
Beginners (Kids)
Champion    Miguel Lorenzo & Cody Abad
Bradley Hao & Ivy Elamparo
FBAA organizers would like to invite everyone in their 14th Conference opening ceremony on Friday, January 22 at the Fahaheel Sports Club.