Sydney Ezra Enriquez tries to complete a rare sweep of the three-leg Zamboanga del Norte swing of the Palawan Pawnshop Palawan Express Pera Padala age group tennis circuit as she banners the cast in the PPS-PEPP Sindangan tournament which got under way yesterday at the Sindangan Tennis Club.
Enriquez took the girls’ 16- and 18-and-under singles titles in the Liloy stop and at her hometown Salug the last two weeks with the rising star eyeing to make it three-in-row in the Group 2 tournament hosted and sponsored by Mayor Nilo Florentino Sy.
But a slew of players will be out to foil her bid, including Princess Gom-os, who is also itching to recover from a series of setbacks, along with Ramela Borromeo, Faith Virgo, Realyn Rosales, Angel Repaja, Jalia Elumba and Jossah Ranas in the premier category of the event presented by Dunlop.
Enriquez also faces an acid test in the 16-U play where she takes a backseat in the rankings dominated by No. 1 Rica Labrador and second seed Elumba with Faith Regencia, Kristine Caindog and Gom-os also tipped to contend.
Nilo Ledama is also gunning for a two-title feat in the boys’ side of the event put up by Palawan Pawnshop, headed by president/CEO Bobby Castro and sanctioned by the Unified Tennis Philippines, made up of PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s, Dunlop, Slazenger and B-Meg.
Ledama, foiled by Jose Maria Pague in the 18-U finals in Salug, gains the top seeding but faces tough challenge from the likes of Lex Estillore, Jessy Elumba and Ram Etcubanas. Estillore, meanwhile, is the player to beat in 16-U side with Ledama at No. 2 followed by Nash Agustines and Russel Daarol.
Keen competition is also seen in the boys’ and girls’ 12- and 14-U categories and 10-unisex play with titles and ranking points also up for grabs in the girls’ and boys’ 14- and 18-U doubles and 10-unisex.
Meanwhile, Lanao del Norte will host the next leg on Sept. 14-17. Listup is ongoing. For details, call PPS-PEPP Program Development director Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.