Southern Section

Tuesday, June 1

SOUTHERN SECTION PLAYOFFS

Championship

Villa Park 12, Keppel 7
It didn’t occur to Alan Yoshioka what he was about to accomplish until the final few points played out in his singles match Tuesday evening at the Southern Section badminton team championship at the Orange County Badminton Club.

When the Villa Park senior upset Brian Pham of Alhambra Keppel, 15-12, 15-10, it gave the Spartans an insurmountable lead in team points en route to their fourth consecutive section title. The 12-7 final marked the third consecutive season in which Keppel finished second.

Villa Park (16-1) forged a 7-5 lead shortly after Yoshioka and Pham took one of four courts in use during the finals. But quick victories by Spartans Brendan Taft in singles and Eva Lee and Betty Ho in doubles got Villa Park to within a point of the magic number of 10 that it needed to seal a win.

Yoshioka said he was up 12-10 in the second game of his match when he looked over at the scorers’ table, saw the team score and discovered how important his match had become. Game scores are kept by the players and are not posted courtside. He lifted several birdies in succession and Pham eventually made a series of unforced errors to close out the match. Villa Park teammates rushed the court to congratulate Yoshioka afterwards.

“It felt good to contribute points to our victory,” he said.

Keppel (13-4) was vying for its ninth section title in school history. It led, 2-1, after the first round of mixed doubles, but Villa Park took three of four singles matches in the second round and never looked back.
--Paul McLeod