Carenage Blasters complete table tennis' semi-finalists

CARENAGE Blasters affirmed the final spot in this year’s Trinidad and Tobago Table Tennis League semi-final with a convincing 3-0 win over Servivors at Carenage Community Centre on May 13.

The result saw Carenage Blasters conclude their preliminary round campaign courtesy wins from Luc O’Young, Nicolas Lee and Nicholas O’Young.

Luc rallied back from two sets down to beat Isa Mohammed 10-12, 6-11, 11-8, 11-7, 11-7; got past Muuahib Newaj 11-8, 11-8, 11-8 while Nicholas dug deep to better Riad Abasali 11-6, 10-12, 11-6, 8-11, 11-6.

The win for Blasters (24pts) propelled them from fifth to third place on the 11-team standings, which earned them a top-four spot and semi-final berth.

The result also nosed UTT out of the top four on the final day of prelim matches. If Blasters lost against Servivors, UTT would have advanced as the fourth qualifier.

Additionally, already qualified QPCC enter the semi-finals as the only unbeaten team, having defeated Servivors 3-0 at Endeavour, Chaguanas, on Friday. They topped the standings after ten rounds of matches with 30pts.

Wasa, who won eight and lost two, finished second with 26pts, while Blasters and Smalta Crusaders (24pts) were third and fourth respectively. Despite both finishing on 24pts, Blasters took third due to their higher win-ratio.

Table-toppers QPCC take on Crusaders in the first semi-final at the National Racquet Centre in Tacarigua on May 22, from 6:30pm. Wasa battle Crusaders in the second semi on May 23, from the same time.

Rounding off the table were UTT (19pts), Hillview Renegades (19pts), Servivors (16pts), Arima Hawks (15pts), PowerGen (15pts), D’Abadie Youths (14pts) and Couva Trailblazers (12pts), from fifth to 11th respectively.