KIANA De Asis sustained her form and racked another pair of victories while Chad Cuizon reasserted his mastery over the 10-unisex field in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala Consolacion leg regional age group tennis tournament in Cebu yesterday.
De Asis came back strong from a second set setback and foiled Ashley McKenzie, 6-0, 4-6, 10-6, to nail the girls’ 16-and-under crown then the La Carlota ace whipped Bless Coderos, 6-0, 6-1, in the premier 18-U side to complete another twinkill in the Group 2 tournament sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and presented by Slazenger.
Connor added the Consolacion leg title to his growling list of victories as the Centrex, Lapu-Lapu bet rolled past Jovani Dimate, 4-1, 4-0, to likewise share the MVP honors with De Asis in the event which kicked off the Vis-Min summer tour backed by Asiatraders Corp. and the new Unified tennis group, led by PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s and B-Meg.
Connor later teamed up with Douglas Maravillas to edge Jovani Dimate and Louchela Estember, 8-4, for the 10-U doubles title while De Asis partnered with Erika Sevilla to post an 8-3 decision over Shedel Gica and Lyra Repollo for the 18-U doubles plum.
No. 5 Vhon Tudtod of Naga outlasted sixth ranked Jude Balundo, 4-6, 7-5, 10-4, to snare the boys’ 18-U title; No. 5 Vinz Luminoque of Mandaue shocked top seed Troy Llamas, 6-1, 6-1, to clinch the 16-U plum; No. 8 EJ Pasaol of Danao upended third seed Joshua Raymundo, 6-2, 6-0, for the 14-U diadem; and Kerwin De Asis, also of La Carlota, took the 12-U crown with a 6-2, 6-0 romp over Andre Estember.
Unranked Ma. Juliana Maravillas of Pardo also pulled off a stunning 6-2, 6-3 upset of top seed Repollo, 6-2, 6-3, in the girls’ 14-U finals while La Carlota’s Jufe-Ann Cocoy took the 12-U title with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Louchella Estember.
“The reversals only underscored the level playing field with a number of unheralded players gaining ground and ranking points through sheer hard work and determination. And the PPS-PEPP circuit will continue to provide them the venue to help hone up their talent and skills,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.
Meanwhile, Tudtod and Luminoque nipped Lemuel Garbosa and Herbert Sarraga, 8-7(4), to cop the boys’ 18-U doubles plum; Cocoy and Nicole Villar upset top seed Repollo and Gica, 8-5, for the girls’ 14-U doubles diadem; while Kenneth Tenepre and Pasaol stunned top seed Kerwin De Asis and Joshua Raymundo, 8-7(5) for the boys’ 14-U doubles crown.
Mactan will host the next stop in the Visayas beginning today (Saturday) till April 26 while the Koronadal leg will be played on April 24-28 before Tacloban takes its turn on April 28-May 2 and Tagum on April 30-May 4. For details, call PPS-PEPP Regional Age Group Tennis Event organizer and Sports Program Development director Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.