TOP seed Nash Agustines scored a repeat in his division while unranked Rica Labrador stunned the girls’ 16-and-under field as they shared the MVP honors in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala Dipolog leg age-group tennis circuit at the RGS Tennis Club last Monday.
Agustines flaunted the form that netted him the boys’ 14-U crown at home last week as the rising Oroquieta City star held off No. 2 Ashton Villanueva, 6-4, 6-4, in the finals. He, however, bowed to No. 1 Nilo Ledama from Pagadian, 4-6, 4-6, in the 16-U championship of the Group 2 tournament sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and presented by Slazenger.
Labrador, on the other hand, upended No. 3 Kristine Bandolis, 6-1, 6-3, in the semis then the Sindangan, Zambo del Norte bet trounced fourth-ranked Jedidiah Gupit, 6-1, 6-2, to claim the 16-U plum. But she lost to Audrey Quimbo of Misamis Occidental, 4-6, 4-6, in the 18-U finals of the event backed by Asiatraders Corp. and Dunlop as the official ball.
In other results, top seed Jose Maria Pague from Zambo Sibugay foiled Ledama, 6-2, 6-2, for the 18-U crown; unseeded Neo Elijah Maratas snared the boys’ 12-U diadem with a 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 victory over No. 2 Mari Erquita; Bandolis from Tubod, Lanao, took the girls’ 14-U plum with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Gupit; unranked Christine Gula-Gula from Dapitan downed May Laputan, 6-3, 6-2, for the girls’ 12-U title; and local bet third seed Mark Barrios ruled the 10-unisex division with a 4-0, 4-1 romp over May Gonzales.
“With no player scoring a twinkill only underscores the level playing field, not just in this particular leg but in majority of our events spread nationwide with new faces and talents continuing to emerge,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro. “We have been attracting a big number players and we expect to lure more this summer.”
The circuit, sanctioned by the Unified Tennis Philippines, made up of PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s, Dunlop, Slazenger and B-Meg, has been drawing more than 200 entries per leg with PPS Sports Program Development director and event organizer Bobby Mangunay expecting the field to increase in the next two legs in Tagum on March 8-12 and Davao on March 15-19. Listup is ongoing. For details, call 0915-4046464.
Meanwhile, Labrador and Quimbo teamed up to bag the 18-U doubles title with an 8-4 victory over Carmela Borromeo and Faye Lim while Lex Estillore and Jessy Elumba took the boys’ crown via the same scoreline over Ashton Villanueva and Dwayne Daarol. Other winners were Bandolis and Gupit (girls’ 14-U), Penshopped Erquita and RG Cagatan (boys’ 14-U) and siblings Andrei and Miggy Omos (10-U).
