Defending champions Blown stormed into the semi-finals of the KPMG Squash League, as they used their previous loss as fuel to demolish Boast Busters 3-0 in their quarter-final matchup at the Liguanea Club on Tuesday night.
Captain Jake Mahfood credited the team’s dominant display to their determination to bounce back from a humbling defeat in the final preliminary round.
“The loss was very tough,” Mahfood admitted, referencing last week’s 3-0 setback against Swift Swingers.
“We fielded our best team, and we thought we could win, but unfortunately, we didn’t. They were a tough team, and I think we may end up playing them in the semi-final or final, so we’re just going to do our best and hope to get there so we can meet them again and get our revenge," he added.
Blown wasted no time in stamping their authority on the quarter-final clash as Andrew Bicknell set the tone with a commanding 3-1 victory over Anthony Ayoub (21-13, 21-20, 13-21, 21-19). Mahfood himself then took the court against Rajeev Venugopal and held firm under pressure to register a straight-sets 3-0 win (21-16, 23-21, 21-17).
The final task of sealing the deal fell to Anthony Mahfood, who delivered a 3-1 triumph over Bobby Vaughn (21-17, 20-21, 21-19, 21-17).
Mahfood praised his teammates for their resilience.
“It was very competitive. Andrew leads our team by example, and he played phenomenally—won the first two games, lost the third, and we were kind of worried about his fitness, but he bounced back like a champion. Anthony also finished strong, so we’re very happy with that and looking forward to the semi-finals," Mahfood said.
With a shot at the title defense now within reach, Mahfood is confident about what’s to come.
“It’s going to be exciting, a lot of entertainment. Unfortunately, Fraser is away representing Jamaica, but he’ll be back for the semis. We’re happy we got him there, and we’re pretty confident that we’re going to retain our title," he noted.
In other quarter-final action, JDF edged out runners-up Fantastic Warriors 3-2 in a thrilling contest. JDF’s Derrian Barrant dominated Stephen Dear 3-1 (21-15, 21-16, 21-19), before Fantastic Warriors’ Nabeel Jawad responded with a clean 3-0 sweep of Orville Bennett (21-17, 21-20, 21-16).
The battle of the captains proved decisive, as JDF’s Jemel Sterling came from two sets down to outlast Stewart Maxwell 3-2 (15-21, 15-21, 21-11, 21-16, 21-16), sealing their spot in the semis.
Meanwhile, Juniors+1 made light work of the Avengers, sweeping them 3-0. Sanjana Nallapati blanked Ethan Miller, Michael McIntosh did the same to Acqueme Johnson, and Ryan Foreman won by walkover against Recardo Stewart.