JOHN David Velez goes for another double-title feat while Casey Padilla hopes to shine at home as they lead the title chase in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala CdO regional age-group tennis tournament beginning today (Thursday, Feb. 1) at the Nazareth Tennis Club in Cagayan de Oro.
Close to 200 entries are slugging it out in nine age categories plus five in the doubles side of the Group 2 tournament serving as the second leg of the 50-stage nationwide circuit sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and presented by Slazenger.
Velez topped the boys’ 14- and 16-and-under divisions in the Fr. Suarez Cup in Bulacan last month although the rising star from Davao has opted to skip the 14-U battle and test his mettle in the 18-U side where he is expected to slug it out with top seed Steven Sonsona from Tubod, Lanao, both in the 16- and 18-U play.
“After the successful Fr. Suarez Cup, we expect another fierce battle for top honors and ranking points among the region’s leading age-groupers, particularly in the boys’ side” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.
Padilla, meanwhile, seeks to draw inspiration from the home crowd as she shoots for the crown in the girls’ 12- and 14-U categories of the five-day tournament backed by Asiatraders Corp. and sanctioned by the Unified Tennis Philippines, made up of PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s, Dunlop, Slazenger and B-Meg.
But she is expected to have her hands full against the likes of Tenielle Madis, Jillian Manangking and Jemarie Manggarai in both divisions with Rovie Baulete and Ma. Angelica Novis bannering the cast in the 16- and 18-U sections.
Meanwhile, Bukidnon will host the third leg on Feb. 8-12 in Dangcagan. Registration is ongoing. For details, call PPS Sports Program Development director and event organizer Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.