Sydney Ezra Enriquez hopes to ride the momentum of her twin victories in Liloy last week as she guns for another “double” in the PPS-PEPP Salug regional age-group tennis 2018 which got underway yesterday, Friday at the Uswag Salug Tennis Courts in Zamboanga del Norte.
Playing before hometown crowd should also motivate Enriquez to shoot for another pair of victories against likes of top seed 14-year-old Rica Labrador and Princess Gom-Os in both the girls’ 16- and 18-and-under divisions of the Group 2 tournament sponsored and hosted by Mayor Jeffrey Lim and presented by Dunlop.
Jalia Elumba and Labrador, meanwhile, gear up for fierce showdown in the 14-U play while Faith Regencia aims for a second straight victory in the 12-U category after topping the Liloy stop of the three-leg Zambo del Norte tour of the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Pera Padala age-group circuit.
Keen competition is also seen in the boys’ section with top seed Nilo Ledama, No. 2 Lex Estillore, third-ranked Jessy Elumba and No. 4 Jose Maria Pague heading the 18-U cast with Estillore and Ledama switching rankings in the 16-U side of the five-day event backed by Asiatraders Corp. and sanctioned by the Unified Tennis Philippines, made up of PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s, Dunlop, Slazenger and B-Meg.
“The Zambo del Norte swing of the PPS-PEPP should encourage other provinces and cities to host more age-groupers to keep the youth busy and at the same time further expand the base of the sport,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.
A spirited chase for top honors also looms in the boys’ 14-U play with Heinz Carbonilla, Liloy leg winner Russel Daarol, Martin Ardiente, Elijah Maratas, Marc Fernandez and Axel Apat, while Maratas also seeks to make it two-in-row in the 12-U division against Carbonilla, Garlandson Ardiente, Bryzen Sanches, Andrei Tan and Jared Timtim.
Ardiente and Sanches are also tipped to figure in the title clash in the 10-unisex side with Chris Ayao, Marcus Tan, Pete Bandala and Andre Omos out to spoil their bid while doubles titles will also be disputed in the boys’ and girls’ 14- and 18-U sections and the 10-unisex.
Meanwhile, Sindangan will host the next leg on Sept. 7-10. Listup is ongoing. For details, call PPS-PEPP Program Development director Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.