Ma. Angelica Novis achieved a two-title target but Reyman Saldivar Jr. settled for one as they shared MVP honors in the PPS-PEPP Digos City national age-group tennis tournament at the Digos City Tennis Club in Davao del Sur yesterday.
The top-seeded Novis dropped just nine games in three matches, capping her romp in the girls’ 16-and-under singles finals with a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Coleen Carvajal. The Malita, Davao ace later crushed Zkyla Cervantes, 6-3, 6-2, in the 18-U finals of the Group 2 presented by Dunlop.
Saldivar, on the other hand, survived the big 32-player field in the boys’ 14-U side, foiling Roy Niegas, 6-2, 6-3, in the finals. The Kabacan bet, however, stumbled in the 16-U division, dropping a 6-1, 3-6, 9-11 semis decision to Kidapawan’s JV Comendador, who went on to overpower Steve Aton, 6-1, 6-2, for the crown.
Other winners in the five-day tournament sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala and sanctioned by the Unified Tennis Philippines made up of PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s, Dunlop, Slazenger and B-Meg were Kabacan’s Yusuf Maldo (10-unisex), Digos’ Charles Jumawan (boys’ 12-U) and Juliana Carvajal (girls’ 14-U), Sultan Kudarat’s Sanchena Francisco (girls’ 12-U), and Brent Magno of Kidapawan (boys’ 18-U).
Maldo blasted Inigo Barrios, 4-2, 4-0; Jumawan outlasted Raphael Duay, 7-5, 1-6, 11-9; Carvajal held off Jemarie Manggarai, 6-4, 6-3; Francisco subdued Ysay Wong, 6-0, 6-4; and Magno turned back Bruce Hurtado, 6-2, 5-7, 10-8.
“The matches that went through deciders only underlined the level playing field with new faces continuing to emerge. And this is all part of our program to discover fresh talents, especially in the countryside,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.
Sharing the doubles titles were siblings Coleen and Juliana Carvajal, and Paul Basan and Christopher Espinoza (18-U); Juliana Carvajal and Ayeesa Dino, and RJ Saldivar and Ben Flores (14-U); and Johnel Maldo and Cian Ramirez (10-U).
Meanwhile, Tagum City will host the last stop of the Mindanao swing on March 7-11. For details and listup, call PPS-PEPP Sports Program Development director Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.
