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Entertainment Panthers won a narrow nail-biting match and edged past Game Changers Lions 24-23 in the penultimate league stage match of the World Padel League on Friday at the Nesco Center in Mumbai. This marked the first win for them in the league stage.
In the mixed doubles, Entertainment Panthers' Javier Leal and Marina Guinart broke Game Changers Lions' Carla Mesa and Gonzalo Rubio on their third serve to take a 4-2 lead before comfortably closing the set 6-4, a WPL press release said. In a thrilling men's doubles clash, Entertainment Panthers' Sanyo Gutierrez and Rama Valenzuela fought hard against Game Changers Lions' Jairo Bautista and Daniel Santigosa. The battle remained intense until Game Changers Lions broke their opponents' final serve to clinch the set 7-5, leveling the overall games at 11-11. In the women's doubles, Entertainment Panthers' Marta Ortega and Sofia Araujo broke Game Changers Lions' Veronica Virseda and Marta Talavan in the opening game to gain an early advantage and go 2-0 up. However, Game Changers Lions responded with three consecutive games to edge ahead 3-2. Entertainment Panthers fought back to force a tiebreak, which saw another tight contest, but Game Changers Lions held their nerve to clinch the set 7-6, securing a narrow 18-17 overall lead. The last set of the match between Entertainment Panthers' Javier Barahona and Javier Garcia and Game Changers Lions' Pablo Lijo and Jon Sanz saw a topsy-turvy contest as Game Changers Lions broke Panthers' first serve to go 2-0 up, but Entertainment Panthers immediately responded and broke their opponents and also equalised 2-2. They went on to break Game Changers Lions' last serve to make 6-5 and held their serve to clinch the set 7-5 and eventually close the game with a narrow 24-23 lead. The match between SG Pipers Cheetahs and Vernost Jaguars is currently underway. With Entertainment Panthers' win, the league is now wide open, and any team can secure a spot in the finals of the World Padel League, set to take place on February 8. (ANI)
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