Sydney Enriquez and Eric Jay Tangub primed up for the tough ITF meet in Malaysia next month by ruling their respective sides in big fashions in the PPS-PEPP Cotabato City national age group tennis tournament at the Cotabato City Tennis Society courts recently.
Enriquez, 16, yielded just two games in topping her age bracket, highlighted by a 6-0, 6-1 romp over unranked Alyssa Dino in the finals. The Salug, Zambo del Norte ace proved tougher in 18-and-under play, crushing Althea Lu, 6-0, 6-0, to cap a rare unbeaten run to the crown in the Group 2 event presented by Dunlop.
Tangub, from Tukuran, Zambo del Sur, held off Heinz Carbonilla, 6-2, 6-3, to capture the boys’ 16-U diadem in a victory that augured well for his and Enriquez’s buildup for the ITF Grade 5 tournament in Selangor on Oct. 1-6 as representatives of the Unified Tennis Philippines.
“With a series of tournaments lined up in the next two months or so, we expect Enriquez and Tangub to further hone up and reach top form in time for the Selangor meet,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.
Sharing top honors were local bets Arpha Sarip (10-unisex) and Dyan Natano (girls’ 12-U), Lanao’s Kale Villamar (boys’ 12-U) and Carbonilla (boys’ 14-U), Pagadian’s Nilo Ledama (boys’ 18-U) and Dapitan’s Christine Gulagula (girls’ 14-U).
Sarip stunned top seed Pete Bandala, 4-1, 4-0; Natano upended No. 1 Marilyn Mesiona, 6-3, 4-6, 10-3; No. 6 Villamar repulsed unranked Reuben Nagret, 6-3, 6-1; Carbonilla routed Oxter Sarip, 6-0, 6-0; Ledama stopped doubles partner Tangub, 6-2, 6-2; and Gulagula foiled Natano, 6-2, 6-3.
Tangub and Ledama later teamed up to clinch the 18-U doubles title with an 8-6 triumph over Aslan Carbonilla and Ren Lagamon with Ezra Enriquez and Mae Torrecarion beating Ayessa Dino and Lu, 8-2, in the girls’ finals.
Vinz Bering and Kale Villamar took the boys’ 14-U plum with an 8-2 rout of Nagret and Klayton Dino with Gulagula and Mesiona bagging the girls’ crown with an 8-3 win over Natano and Yna Francisco.
Bandala and Inigo Barrios toppled the top-seeded pair of Johnel Maldo and Cian Ramirez, 8-4, to snare the 10-unisex title in the event sanctioned by the UTP made up of PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s, Dunlop, Slazenger and B-Meg.
For details, call PPS-PEPP Sports Program Development director Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.
Meanwhile, next up is the PPS-PEPP Actifit All Students Open presented by MCF Global on Sept. 13-15, 20-22 and 27-28 at the Actifit Sports Center in Valenzuela City.