Following the successful win of Jersey’s first Island Padel Corporate league in July, SaSo Strategic has gone ahead and smashed the record with a second win, this time in the Autumn Corporate League and Knockout.
The popularity of the League has grown significantly from the summer corporate league, with sixteen teams now becoming twenty-four in the latest competition. What’s more, there were even more teams eager to join but who missed the competition registration deadline. So it is expected that the next league season will be even more popular and exciting.
Competition for this series was incredibly fierce, too, with some corporates recruiting well-known, experienced Island padel players to play in their teams in the quarter and semi-finals. Crafty? Possibly, but this didn't deter the SaSo Strategic team from digging in and winning the semi-final, possibly as underdogs and then winning the overall Corporate League with a fantastic effort in the final against our old friends Sancus.
Full results below:
Court 1 – Bero & Garry won 4-6, 6-1, and 11-9.
Court 2 – Ric & James won 6-0, 6-1.
Court 3 – Sonia & Euan won 6-1, 6-0
Here’s a breakdown of the overall scores for the various matches played throughout the Autumn Corporate League:
GROUP STAGES
SaSo vs Aztec 3-0
SaSo vs T&G 3-0
Saso vs Fairway 3-0
SaSo vs Maples Group 3-0
SaSo vs Sancus 3-0
QUARTER-FINAL
SaSo vs Rok 3-0
SEMI-FINAL
Saso vs Advisa 2-1
FINAL
SaSo vs Sancus 3-0
WHAT IS CORPORATE PADEL, AND HOW IS IT PLAYED?
Each corporate padel game runs for 60 minutes, and the team who has won the most sets then wins the match, though if won in 2 straight sets, the match could finish earlier than 60 mins. Any games which go to deuce have a sudden death point to decide the game; the receiving team chooses who receives the serve.
Should the match reach one set-all, a tie-break of up to ten points will be played to decide the game; again, two points clear of the opposing team to win the tie-break.
Although the Jersey facility has outdoor and indoor courts on specially designed courts that look similar to a tennis court, Corporate Padel is played indoors.
HEAR SASO STRATEGIC'S ACCOUNT OF THE COMPETITION
Garry Forbes, SaSo Strategic’s Managing Director and a very keen and involved member of the SaSo Padel team shared his first account of the competition, complete with all the highs and lows of the various matches.
Quarter Final versus Rok
“The game was relatively straightforward, with Bero and Garry winning 6-0, 6-2 (versus Jay Giles, Jersey Bulls left back), Ric & James winning 6-0, 6-1 and Jo and Dave 6-0, 6-0.
This was Rok’s first tournament, so they did well to finish 2nd in their group and get to the quarter-final when they had only been playing for a month or two, and they were a great bunch of people, and I’m sure they will do well in future competitions.”
Semi-Final versus Advisa
“While the Rok battle had been relatively straightforward, the match against Advisa was entirely different. Desperate to beat the reigning winners, Advisa brought two Islands Padel players to join their team. The Island Players, who had recently played against Guernsey, are regarded as among the top eight or so players on the island. Advisa also beat HSBC 3-0 in the quarter-final the day before, and with such experienced players on their side, we knew we were in for a battle, and an epic match ensued.
Bero & Meeku recovered from an early 2-4 1st set deficit (Euan and I started watching this match but found the suspense of watching Meeku too great as he competed against one of the best players on the Island!)
Following a sensible pep talk from Bero ‘not to hit to John Southern’, the match turned around.
Over on Court Two, Rick and James were also up against some serious competition, playing against Ian Furness, a multiple award-winning Island squash champion and Island Games squash gold medallist!”
“On the realisation, this would be a challenging game, Ric and James played valiantly against Ian, who covered more than 80% of the Court and delivered an unbelievable individual performance.
Elsewhere on Court 3, Sonia and Dave, our dream team, took their match in their stride and won 6-5, 6-4. This duo is a marriage on the padel court, with Dave being solid and consistent, while Sonia (an island tennis player) would never fail to back herself and go for it, especially on the big points!
It was all about team spirit.
The Autumn League was marked by the inclusion of some incredibly experienced, some might even argue professional players, so SaSo Strategic’s win is even sweeter. The commitment shown by our team to show up for every match was unrivalled, and we believe led us to win the Autumn league.”
One of the SaSo Padel team members, who is also a client, said to Garry, “I felt like the SaSo Padel team was like a family, and my husband and I really felt part of the family.”
Final versus Sancus
"Sancus played some brilliant games against SaSo in the group stages, so we knew the last match would be fierce, especially as they had shocked Mourant in the semi-final, who may have been considered favourites. Having played so well in the previous games, it was tricky to select our team for the final as we had such strength in depth with nine players available to play and only six players who could be picked. We decided to go with Ric and James (to redeem themselves!) Sonia and Euan (who had waited patiently for his chance) and Bero and Garry, but Jo, Dave or Meeku would have done equally and cheered us on from the sidelines."
Results below of the Autumn Corporate Padel League final:
Court 1 – Bero & Garry won 4-6, 6-1, and 11-9.
Court 2 – Ric & James won 6-0, 6-1.
Court 3 – Sonia & Euan won 6-1, 6-0