The Jamaica Star :: Sport :: JNBS sweep all Business House TT Titles

Former many-times champions, Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS), made a clean sweep of all business house table tennis events contested on the weekend at the annual Business House Competition. The tournament had a new format this time as a one-day rally was played in the Utech auditorium on Sunday.

In addition to the men's team event, JNBS's Christopher Marsh copped the men's singles title and teamed with Patrick Blake to take the men's doubles crown, to complete the sweep. There was no play in the women's section this year as entry was only received from defending champions Windalco.

JNBS, who did not take part last year, blanked defending champions Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) 3- 0 in the final to regain the crown. Earlier, in the four-team round robin group, they edged Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) 3-2 and stopped West Indies Alumina Company (Windalco) 3-1 to reach the final while JUTC blanked BOJ, 3-0 and edged Windalco 3-2 to progress to the final. BOJ drubbed Windalco 3-0 in the third- place playoff.

Marsh outlasted Chin

In individual results in the team final, Marsh outlasted Chin 9-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-8, 11-6 (3-2) and Maurice Salkey eased past Christopher Peart 11-7, 11-6, 11-5 (3-0) in singles matches. Blake and Salkey then turned back Peart and Kenneth Thompson 3-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-9 (3-1), for JNBS's 3-0 triumph

Marsh, who had won the business house men's singles title a number of times before while representing other teams, was winning his first crown for JNBS and did so by coming from behind for a 6-1, 6-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 (3-2) victory in the final over defending champion Marlon Chin of JUTC. Marsh advanced to the final by trouncing Alphanso Murray of BOJ, 3-0 in the semi-final as Chin progressed by way of a 3-1 semi-final win over Maurice Stewart of Allied Protection Ltd.

In the men's doubles final, Marsh and Blake of JNBS crushed Chin and Kenneth Thompson of JUTC 11-7, 11-2, 11-7 (3-0) after blowing away Murray and Jide Lewis of BOJ, 3-0 in semi-final. The JUTC pair defeated Keith Garvey and Lincoy Small of Jamaica Public Service /Rural Electrification Programme 3 -1 in the other semi-final, to advance.