Ma. Caroliean Fiel hopes to ride the momentum of her big two-title romp in Maasin last week as she goes for a reprise in the Mayor Jose Carlos Cari National Juniors Tennis Championships, which begin Thursday at the Baybay City Tennis Club in Leyte.
The young find from Ormoc dominated the 10-unisex field last week and added the girls’ 12-U crown to match Kimi Brodeth (16- and 18-U) and Gio Manito’s (boys’ 16- and 18-U) feats and share the MVP honors with the latter in the Group 2 tournament presented by Dunlop.
But she expects a fightback from the likes of siblings Pete and Enzo Niere and Julianne Ciabu in the youngest category of the nine age-group division tilt of the country’s longest talent-search put up by Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.
Fiel will also be sternly tested in the 12-U division of the event which drew a record 216 entries through the effort of Mayor Cari, whose daughter Gia is a UP top player and a former PPS-PEPP junior campaigner, and Rep. Nicolas Cari, whose all-out support continues to boost Baybay City’s sports program.
Meanwhile, Brodeth, also from Ormoc, likewise shoots for a two-title repeat but braces for a challenging week against Kate Imalay, Davanee Velasco Eda Villa in 16-U class, and versus Joan Gonzaga, Rica dela Cerna, Princess Rebuyas, Velasco and Imalay in the premier division of the event backed by ProtekTODO, PalawanPay, the Unified Tennis Philippines and UTR (Universal Tennis Rating).
Kimi Brodeth and Fiel are also motivated to do good this week as the circuit heads to their hometown for the third leg of the Visayan swing on March 23-27. For details, contact tournament organizer Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.
Like Kimi Brodeth, Manito, from Pardo, Cebu, will have his hands full in the 32-player boys’ 18-U draw that includes Gerald Gemida, Ariel Semblante, Jr., and Nicholas Ocat, while the likes of Kenzo Brodeth, Kevin Tabura and Manuel Jocson are all primed for a crack at glory in the 16-U play.
Kenzo Brodeth and David Sepulveda banner the boys’ 14-U cast, which also features Christian Laguna and Urciano Villa, while Imalay, Chrystell Laguna, Dorothy Araneta and Beatrice Celeste headline the girls;’ 14-U field.
Leading the boys’ 12-U roster are Claudwin Toñacao, Pete Niere, Fritz Cayunda, Wynn Calagos, Gabriel Cañezo, Xyril Chiong, Enzo Niere and Raphael Cotiangco.