Braden River Pirates fight back to win Class 3A-Region 2 semifinal over Tampa King
EAST MANATEE -- When Braden River was awarded the No. 1 singles match by default, the Pirates seemed to lose some of their adrenalin.
Host Braden River then lost at No. 2 singles, and had to fight its way back before winning the Class 3A-Region 3 semifinal over Tampa King 5-2 on Tuesday.
David Ojeda, the Pirates' No. 1 singles player, teamed with No. 2 singles player Race Arande to win the match at No. 1 doubles and send the Pirates to Thursday's Class 3A Region 3 final, where a trip to the state tournament will be on the line.
"We played a little bit off today. They did not play like they did in the district tournament," Braden River head coach James Straub said. "They looked over (at the other team) and knew they had a better skill set, better ball-striking ability and they took their foot off the gas. They didn't play quite to the level they are capable of with a little bit too many errors."
Ojeda was awarded his victory when Vignesh Bhetanaqbotla couldn't play because of a strained back. Arande lost at No. 2 singles to Aaron Wang, 4-6, 3-6, and the Pirates lost at No. 3 singles when Sebastian Bucarion was beaten by Rohit Churi 6-7 (4-7), 4-6.
The Pirates regrouped. Xavier Muzquiz defeated Ben Geller 6-0, 6-7, (10-4) at No. 4 singles, and Colson Engleberger topped Albert Boholst 7-5, 6-2 at No. 5 singles.
Ojeda and Arande defeated Geller and Wang in the pro set doubles with an 8-4 victory before Bucarion and Muzquiz topped Chari and Vin Mai at No. 2 doubles 8-4.
Ojeda and Arande played only a few matches in dou
bles this year, but they had the kind of chemistry Straub liked.
"They feed off each other. David is a stabilizing player for Race. Race is a bit of a hot dog. He can hit all the shots, but David doesn't miss. He can place it wherever he wants," Straub said. "You can always count on David. He is the stabilizing force that gets Race back. They are tough guys to beat."
By virtue of winning the No. 1 singles title at district, Ojeda has qualified for state. But he doesn't want to go alone and was a little disappointed in not playing his singles match.
"I wanted to win for the rest of my team. It would've helped playing singles maybe, but I felt good playing doubles and as long as we won it was a good thing," Ojeda said. "In the (doubles) match we just had to make shots and not miss. I just wanted to help the rest of the guys."
Arande said he felt a little more pressure because he hasn't punched a ticket to states at No. 2 singles, but was confident.
"I like pressure. I was very glad we had to play doubles to determine the match," Arande said. "I am confident in our team, that we will all make it to states. I like our chemistry and the funny moments we have on the court. This match was very important because i want to show the state how we can play doubles. They didn't present any problems. We just wanted to get the win and move on."
The Pirates are slated to be home Thursday for the region final against the winner of the Tampa Freedom-Osceola match.
Alan Dell, Herald sports columnist/writer, can be reached at 941-745-7056. Follow him on Twitter @ADellSports
This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 8:56 PM with the headline "Braden River Pirates fight back to win Class 3A-Region 2 semifinal over Tampa King ."