2nd REIS Table Tennis Tourney Finals End in Style

Kunle Adewale

It was table tennis at its rare best as curtain falls at the finals of the second edition of the REIS Table Tennis Tournament held at the Oba of Lagos Sports Hall, Eko Club, Surulere, on Saturday with six final games in different categories decided.

The finals which kick started with the Mini Cadet category, saw Adebayo Aliamin of Lagos State defeating Oyo State representative, Ayoola Usman by three straight sets. 
In the Cadet Girls, Akanbi Taiwo of Lagos State defeated Emmanuel Joy also of Lagos State by three sets to one.

It was another all-Lagos State affair in the Cadet Boys as Adebakin Tobi got the better of Emmanuel Joseph, by three sets to one. 

It was a three straight win in the Veterans Final as Bambo Emmanuel out classed Adebayo Fatai. 

In the Women’s Singles final, Durosimi Etti of Lagos State, bounced back from a set down to get the better of her opponent and Lagos State counterpart, Bosede Akinsete, 3-1. 

It was however a dramatic encounter in the Mens Single final, which was the blue ribbon of the tournament. An encounter that not only lived up to its billing but kept the capacity filled hall at the edge of their seats for the whole period of the seven sets, as the duo of Bayelsa State representative, Orok Etim and Ahmed Bello from Delta State thrilled fans to a scintillating game of table tennis. 

Etim came from three sets down to beat his National Sports Festival gold medallist opponent, 4-3, to the amusement of the roaring crowd.

An obviously elated founder and convener of the tournament, Olaseni Reis expressed satisfaction at the tournament just as he promised that the next edition would be bigger.

“This second edition has really been a big success in terms of the quality of organisation and I think the tournament is now well known now-courtesy of the media and the quality of players on parade,” Reis told THISDAY.