PHILIPPINE tennis gets a big shot in the arm as the MAC’s Crankit Tennis Academy of Australia ties up with the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala to put up a rich Open tournament next month at the Philippine Columbian Association courts in Paco, Manila.
The MAC’s Crankit PPS-PEPP Open will also feature the juniors age-group championships, guaranteeing a huge cast of rising and leading players from the ranks and members of the national pool and team in the P580,000 tournament sanctioned by the Unified Tennis Philippines on April 21-29.
Up for grabs in the Open are the men’s and women’s singles titles along with the doubles crowns in both categories. The men’s singles champion will receive P100,000 while the women’s titlist will get P50,000 with prizes distributed all the way down to the qualifiers.
Registration is ongoing. For details, call the PPS-PEPP sports program development director Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.
MCTA founder-coach Patricia Concon-Puzon is spearheading the staging of the event as part of the Australian group’s continuing effort to help boost Philippine tennis and produce future champions.
Puzon, a former mainstay of the Philippine team and member of the Australian Tennis Professional Coaches Association with a Master Pro Level 3 title, has been conducting a series of tennis clinics nationwide the last few years, including the MCTA-ATPCA Tennis Teachers/Coaches Conferences.
“My dream is to establish unity. The tournament is aimed at unifying all groups and focusing on doing everything together and at the same time give everybody a chance to compete, particularly those from the provinces,” said Puzon.
The MAC’s Crankit PPS-PEPP Open is supported by Sen. Manny Pacquiao, Rep. Patrick Antonio, the Association of Tennis Professional Coaches Australia (ATPCA), the Global Professional Tennis Coach Association (GPTCA), Happy Pet Products and Asia Traders Corp. distributor of Dunlop/Slazenger.
“Through the MCTA PPS-PEPP Open, we would also be giving Filipinos the opportunity to experience world class coaching conferences,” she added. “In this regard, I would also like to share my responsibilities with the rest and help make a difference so we may sustain support to those in need, particularly the under-privileged.”
“We thank the MCTA, through coach Puzon, for supporting Phl tennis and the Filipino players who we all believe have the potential to make it big on the world stage,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro. “This is going to be an exciting tournament and we expect the best players – from the age-group level to the Open – to slug it out for top honors and juicy prizes.”
The MAC’s Crankit Foundation is a non-profit agency aimed at changing lives and empowering individuals and communities through sports and community service.