THIRD seed Allen Rombawa posted a win and a runner-up finish while Denise Bernardo took the girls’ 18-and-under crown as they bagged the MVP honors in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala San Pablo regional age-group tennis tournament at the Alina and San Pablo Tennis Courts in Laguna last Wednesday.
Rombawa dominated JT Bernardo, 6-1, 6-1, in the boys’ 16-U finals but yielded the 18-U diadem, 7-6(3) ret., to fellow local bet Cesar Mestiola due to bum stomach. The No. 2 Bernardo, on the other hand, survived a first set scare and the Los Baños bet ripped top seed Anna De Myer in the second frame to fashion out a 7-6(3), 6-0 victory in the premier division of the Group 2 tournament sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop headed by president/CEO Bobby Castro and presented by Dunlop as official ball.
Seven others shared the spotlight as no player scored a double victory for the second straight tournament in the annual circuit sanctioned by the United Tennis Philippines, made up of PPS-PEPP Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s, Dunlop, Slazenger and B-Meg to underscore the level playing field.
Lucena’s Gabrielle Zoleta also upended De Myer, 6-1, 2-6, 10-7, to snare the 16-U plum; Sta. Rosa’s Melody Dizon took the 14-U diadem with a 6-2, 6-0 romp over Elise Cruz; Ma. Sophia Moreno from Lipa, Batangas bagged the 12-U trophy with a 6-4, 7-6(9) thriller over Isabelle Marasiga;
Sta. Rosa’s Marco Macalintal trounced Kurt Balela, 6-1, 6-1, in the boys’ 14-U finals; Andre Coladilla from Magdalena, Laguna tripped Adrian Cagitla, 6-4, 6-2, to clinch the 12-U title; while Frank Dilao, also from Sta. Rosa, held off sibling Vhiele, 4-1, 5-4(6), for the 10-unisex crown in the event backed by Asiatraders Corp.
Rombawa and Bernardo also pulled off a victory each in doubles with the former teaming up with De Myer to rout Dizon and Shaira Silva, 8-2, and the latter partnering with Mestiola to crush Adrian Cagitla and Coladilla, 8-1. Other winners were the Dilao brothers, who whipped Al John Rombawa and Roden Sianson, 8-1, for the 10-U title; and Cagitla-Coladilla, who took the 14-U plum with an 8-3 victory over Draven Flores-Athan Tee.
Meanwhile, action shifts to Mindoro for the PPS-PEPP Pinamalayan Open on May 5-11. Listup is ongoing. For details, call tournament director Bobby Mangunay at 09154046464.