Mica Emana seeks to bring her winning act to Pampanga, all primed for another crack at not just one but two titles in the PPS-PEPP national age-group tournament which begins Friday at Zentro tennis courts in Apalit.
While she remains ranked at No. 3 in both 16- and 18-and-under divisions, the rising Quezon City star is all focused on the task at hand, expecting a fierce challenge from the top guns but hopeful of matching her two-title romp in last week’s Olivarez Cup.
The country’s longest talent-search put up by Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro heads to the north after another successful run in Mindanao, the Visayas and in south Luzon with close to 200 entries all geared up for a week-long battle of power and style for top honors in eight age categories and ranking points.
For details, contact Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.
Emana, who posted a win and a runner-up finish in Sta. Rosa, Laguna two weeks back, repelled Marielle Jarata to claim the 16-U title in the Olivarez Cup. She then got back at sister Kaye-Ann in 18-U finals to come into this week’s battle the marked player.
But Jarata, Kaye-Ann Emana and Glaiza Corpuz, among others, are going all-out to stop her in the premier class while Jana Diaz, Sandra Bautista and Jarata try to take charge in 16-U play of the Group 2 tournament presented by Dunlop and backed by ProtekTODO, PalawanPay, the Unified Tennis Philippines and UTR (Universal Tennis Rating).
A tight battle also looms in boys’ play, which drew full-packed 32-player rosters in four divisions, with Marc Jarata, Exequiel Jucutan, Thomas Bernardo, Darwin Cosca, Mateo Rivas and Ivan Manila headlining the 18-U field and Kendrick Bona going for back-to-back in 16-U that also features siblings Frank and France Dilao, Cosca, Rivas and Manila.
The Dilao brothers also lead the 14-U cast that includes Reign Maravilla, Gabriel Cruz, Pablo Olivarez III and Zachary Morales, the last two also tipped to dispute the 12-U crown while Adriana Lanza also seeks a second straight title in girls’ 12-U as well as Jelena Diaz in 14-U side.