Guia Bandolis and Ashton Villanueva hope to live up to the hype as they go for a “double” in their respective divisions in the PPS-PEPP Daryl Uy national age-group tennis tournament which gets going today (Sunday, May 5) at the Mibang Tennis Club in Dipolog City.
Bandolis gains the top seeding in the girls’ 16- and 18-and-under play with the Tubod, Lanao del Norte ace bracing for a spirited battle against the likes of Angel Denopolo, Angel Repaja, Jalia Elumba and Jane Echon in both divisions of the Group 2 tournament presented by Dunlop and hosted by Mayor Daryl Uy.
Villanueva also looms as the player to beat in the boys’ top two categories of the event serving as part of the Mindanao swing of the nationwide talent-search put up by Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala with the Ozamiz City bet gearing up for a showdown with the likes of Jhev Sagario, Neo Maratas and siblings Alritz and Aldree Pan.
Five other singles titles are up for grabs, including in the boys’ and girls’ 12- and 14-and-U and the 10-unisex with five doubles crowns also set to be disputed in the 14- and 18-U (boys and girls) and 10-unisex.
Also on tap is a clinic for beginners and regular campaigners in the circuit sanctioned by the Unified Tennis Philippines made up of PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s, Dunlop, Slazenger and B-Meg.
Meanwhile, listup for the Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental leg on May 8-11 is ongoing. For details, call PPS-PEPP Sports Program Development director Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.
The Luzon swing also resumes in Manila for the Cainta Open featuring the country’s top players on May 13-21 while the two-weekend PPS-PEPP UP National Student Open (Valenzuela) will be played on May 18-19 and on May 25-26.