Omori siblings triumph in youth badminton tourney

Brothers Manatsu and Kanata Omori were crowned champions in the junior division of the 2nd Traders Insurance Badminton Team Tournament Saturday at the Gilbert C. Ada Gymnasium.

The Omori siblings bested three other pairs in the side event of the annual tournament organized by the Northern Marianas Badminton Federation.

The Omoris played for the Orange Team and after a round-robin tournament tied Green's Ezekiel Macario and Jenine Savellano, and Gray's John-John and Jylan Capuyon.

The three teams finished the round-robin with identical 2-2 records. Rodwealth Espana and Kenneth Domingo of the Red Ream were the other participants in the juniors division.

Gray, Orange, and Green all advanced to the playoffs with Green drawing a bye in the first round. Orange and Gray collided for the first match in the playoffs with the former winning to move to the title game.

The Capuyon brothers then dueled Orange's Macario and Savellano in the battle for the last finals slot with the latter pair prevailing to set a championship showdown with the Omor brothers.

The Omori siblings took a short route to the championship beating Macario and Savellano in straight sets, 21-15, 21-19.

Tournament director Macoi Aguda said they decided to have a junior division for this year's Traders event to encourage youth involvement in badminton.

The tournament for adults concluded Sunday with the Green All-Stars beating seven other squads for the championship.

The Smash Killers finished second, while the Gray Hawks ended in third place. Other teams that competed in the Traders tournament were the Bad Masters, the Blue Powers, the Net Fighters, the Red Dragon Shuttlers, and D' Bombers.

The Top 3 placers will be receiving trophies in the NMBF Christmas Party later this month.

The Traders Insurance tournament was supported by Shirley's Coffee Shop, Pacific Quick Print, Coral Ocean Point, PTI, Sun Palace Hotel, Wear-A-Marconi, Tropex, Dollar Days, and Labtech International.
(Saipan Tribune)