2nd Gio’s Cup Pickleball Tourney underway

The 2nd Annual Gio’s Cup Pickleball Tournament has been underway at the American Memorial Park Tennis Court no. 4 since Friday, April 23.

The tournament wrapped up its first week of matches from Friday, April 23 to Sunday, April 27, with champions emerging in their respective divisions. The divisions include men’s doubles, women’s doubles, mixed doubles from rankings 2.0+, 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0+; and singles open division. The tournament will kick back up again on Friday, May 2, to Sunday, May 4.

In the women’s doubles 4.0+ division, Marivic Dunlop and Mihoko Suzuki came out on top. Second place were Joan Henzon and Chelsea Henzon. In the men’s doubles, Hui Luo and Levi Omampo were champions, while second place went to Enoch Lim and Joe Quitugua. Melvin Galapon and Wendell Delos Santos teamed up to take the men’s doubles 3.0 title, and second place were Cyril Domingo and Carlo Domingo.

Levi Omampo and Leah Omampo owned the mixed doubles 3.5, while second place went to Fel and Jane. Jorge and Jocelyn won the mixed doubles 3.0, while second place were Wendell Delos Santos and Jyll Salas; Rizalina Liwag and Lea Verzon claimed the women’s doubles 2.0+, with Fatima Pascual and Becky Bailey settling for second place.

Richard Asuncion and Chelsea Henzon are champions in the mixed doubles 4.0+, as Eric Abragan and Suzuki claimed second place; and L.J. Libut and Ivy Grecia won the women’s doubles 3.0+, while second place went to Jorgena Lopez and Rica Sacramento.

The tourney is hosted by the 670 Saipan Pickleball Group and is coordinated by Ellaizah Gail Manalang. During the tournament on Sunday, Manalang spoke with Marianas Press. The group, she said, is not an association or a club, “it’s just a group of people that love to play pickleball… they just come here every night from 5pm all the way til lights out which is about 10pm.”

She said there were about 110 participants in the tournament, and that there are around 250 players in Saipan—a number that continues to grow. As for the turnout of the tourney, she said, “it’s really exciting. We have a lot of the community that they’re not players but come to watch and it piques their interest. They come and see the game and they see that a lot of age categories come and play so it kind of invites them—it’s free advertising for everybody to just come and try it out.”

With the growth of pickleball in the CNMI, she said that every night seems like a tournament night, even if there’s no tournament. She also hopes for more dedicated courts for pickleball to meet the increasing demand. “We have two to three rows of cars as you see if you pass by here every night, so it’s really fast growing and it’d be great to have more courts available for pickleball for the community,” said Manalang.

She added that there are lots of pickleball groups on the island including theirs, a group at Capital Hill, in Koblerville, and Marianas High School, as well as a group in Tinian. The group also thanked their main sponsors of the tournament STI and SGI, as well as all the individuals who donated, volunteered, and helped make the tourney a success.

In a media release by the group, it said, “thanks to generous support from the community and sponsors, two semi-permanent nets have already been installed at Court No. 4, providing players a reliable place to gather and play. In addition, 400 pickleball were purchased and made available for nightly community use, ensuring everyone has the opportunity to participate.”