Perpetual tablenet aces forge 4-way tie

MANILA—Perpetual Help walloped Mapua and San Sebastian via a pair of 3-1 match scores over the weekend to forge a four-way logjam on top at the start of the 87th NCAA table tennis tournament at the Mapua Gym in Intramuros.

Team captain Argel Carandang, Robert Rosales, Dennis Picondo, Vittorio Leocandio, Kenneth Igon and Adrian Remo combined in hammering out the two triumphs as the Altas set in motion their bid to regain the title they won for three straight years from 1998 to 2000.

“Our goal is to win the championship and this early, we’re doing good,” said Perpetual Help coach Joselito Almazan, who has been coaching the Las Piñas-based school for the last 12 seasons.

For the Altas to boost its title bid, they would need to win at least four more matches, including their game against the St. Benilde Blazers and the Jose Rizal Bombers today at the same venue.

Perpetual Help is bunched with defending champion San Beda, St. Benilde and Letran on top of the heap with identical 2-0 win-loss slates.

The top four teams after the single-round elimination will advance to the next round where they will play each other once with the top two advancing to the finals.

A team wins the title outright if it tops both the first and second rounds.

“So far, so good,” said league and Perpetual Help president Anthony Tamayo, who opened the competition.