Dhea Cua lived up to the hype in girls’ 14-U play while James Aquino bucked the odds in boys’ 16-U as they led the winners in the upset-marred PPS-PEPP Rep. John Tracy Cagas national age group tennis championships in Digos, Davao del Sur last Sunday.
Cua and Aquino, however, missed completing a double victory each as they came up short in the 16- and 18-U finals, respectively, but clinched the MVP honors with 1-2 finishes in the Group 2 tournament at the Digos City Tennis Club’s hard courts.
The top-seeded Cua, 14, dropped just three points in three games to dominate her age group, capping her romp with a 6-2, 6-0 rout of Aika Salahuddin in the finals. But the rising Kidapawan City star fell short against Tagum City’s Chelsea Bernaldez, yielding a 6-4, 3-6, 14-12 result, in the 16-U championship.
The seventh-ranked Aquino, also from Tagum, repulsed No. 2 Randy Pausanos, 6-2, 6-2, in the semis then crushed top seed Josh Lim, 6-1, 6-0, to snare the boys’ 16-U plum in the country’s longest talent-search put up by Palawan Pawnshop.
But Aquino wavered in the boys’ 18-U finals, bowing to fellow unranked Jude Padao from Digos, 6-3, 6-7(4), 10-6. The local bet stunned No. 1 Vince Serna, 2-6, 6-0, 10-4, in the semis, while Aquino upended No. 6 Derek Napala, 0-6, 6-3, 10-8.
“Seeing the players’ playing standards improving and fresh faces emerging only inspires us to continue providing these youngsters a regular circuit to develop and harness their skills and talent,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.
Meanwhile, action shifts to Puerto Princesa City on Sept. 20-30 for the Juniors and Open championships, along with the Legends tournament at the Karawatan PPS tennis courts.
For details, contact event organizer and Sports Program Development director Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.
Stephen Fuertes, another local campaigner, also repulsed the top-ranked Lim in 14-U semis, 6-4, 6-3, then foiled No. 4 Jason Battad, 6-1, 7-5, to snatch the crown, while No. 4 Angel Vosotros from Lanao del Norte scored a 7-5(ret.) win over third seed Juliana Carvajal, also from the host city, in the finals of the premier girls’ division.
Unranked Princess Placa also recorded a resounding 6-0, 6-0 win over No. 1 and fellow Digos native Clausxie Flores in girls’ 12-U with Pigcawayan, Cotabato’s Julius Otoc held off Carl Eduarte from Kidapawan, 6-1, 7-6(5), to claim the boys’ crown in the youngest age category of the event hosted by Gov. Cagas and backed by ProtekTODO, PalawanPay, the Unified Tennis Philippines and UTR (Universal Tennis Rating).