IVAN MANILA chalked up a win and a runner-up finish while Sandra Bautista took top honors in the girls’ division of the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala (PPS-PEPP) Brookside Open national juniors championships at the Brookside Hills Tennis Club’s clay courts in Cainta, Rizal, over the weekend.
The fourth-ranked Manila trounced No. 5 Tristan Licayan, 6-0, 6-2, in the finals of the upset-marred boys’ 16-under division while Bautista from Imus, Cavite, lived up to her top billing in the girls’ 14-under class, holding off second seed Joy Ansay from Sta. Rosa, Laguna, 7-5, 6-3.
Manila, however, failed to complete a “double” as the San Jose, Nueva Ecija bet dropped a tough 4-6, 5-7, defeat to third ranked Zhul Pantaran from Pagadian City in the premier 18-under category of the Group I tournament presented by Dunlop.
Bautista, on the other hand, came up short in 16-U play after romping off with the 14-under diadem, yielding a hard 4-6, 6-4, 4-10 loss to Chloe Mercado from QC in the semis of the event backed by ProtekTODO, PalawanPay, Unified Tennis Philippines and Universal Tennis Rating.
After hurdling Licayan, Manila looked all set for a twinkill after dropping just five games to reach the 18-under finals, including a 6-2, 6-3 romp over Samuel Davila in the semis. But Pantaran came out fresh from a 1-0 (retired) win over Alfonso Infante in the Last 4 and repulsed Manila in a baseline duel.
The other winners in the event, which served as prelude to the Brookside Open, put up by Palawan Pawnshop president and CEO Bobby Castro, were Licayan (14-under), Quezon City’s Zachary Morales (boys’ 12-under), unranked Alexa Milliam from La Carlota (girls’ 18-under) and Maristella Torrecampo from Los Baños (girls’ 12-under).
Licayan, also from Imus, ripped Paranaque’s Gavin Kraut, 6-1, 6-2; Morales foiled Quezon City’s Yñigo Naredo, 6-3, 6-3; Milliam dominated Kaye Mustaza from Bulacan, 6-0, 6-1; and Torrecampo crushed Cadee Dagoon from Olongapo City, 6-0, 6-1.
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