Team Philippines settled for fifth place with its 2-1 victory over Japan last Saturday in the 2019 International Tennis Federation World Junior Team Tennis Tournament in Prosjetov, Czech Republic.
The team failed to match or surpass a Czarina Arevalo-coached squad that placed third in the Asia/Oceania qualifying matches last year.
Alexandra Eala and Alexa Joy Milliam claimed the decisive win in the doubles with their 6-2, 3-6, 11-9 verdict over Sayaka Ishii and Mio Mushika.
“This is it! The final day of the tournament unfolded with some extra energy. The electricity in the air seemed to energize all the players, as everyone wanted to finish the tournament strong,” said Team Philippines’ guardian Michael Francis Eala.
To reach the battle for fifth position, the Philippines had to hurdle Ukraine, 3-0, on Friday.
Eala and Milliam, trailing, 7-8, unleashed a 4-1 spurt to take the final set.
Host Czech Republic, behind Linda Fruhvirtova, bounced back from last year’s disppointments to prevail over Team USA, 2-0, and take the girls’ crown.
“Out of 97 nations, finishing 5th in the World Juniors Tennis Championships 2019 looks like a record we all hope that the next generation will break soon,” added the elder Eala.
The 14-year-old Fruhvirtova recovered from a troublesome hand injury and dispatched previously unbeaten USA No. 1 Clervie Ngounoue, 6-0, 6-1, in less than an hour, giving the Czechs their first girls’ title since 2003.
Canada placed third with a 2-1 win over top seeds Switzerland, with Kayla Cross and Victoria Mboko taking down Karolina Kozakova and Celine Naef in the doubles.
Ukraine placed seventh after stopping Serbia, while Korea ended up in ninth by dispatching China.