Justine Maneja came away with two abbreviated victories and one scrambling win while Daniel Estanislao III captured two titles as they dominated the PPS-PEPP Pulilan Youth-Bulacan national age group tennis tournament at the Pulilan Tennis Club outdoor tennis courts in Bulacan last Tuesday.
The 14-year-old Maneja, playing out of Arellano U, scored back-to-back 1-0 (ret.) wins in her age group over top seed Julia Ignacio and against Gaby Zoleta in the girls’ 16-U finals then the Quezon City ace hung tough to frustrate Mica Emana, 7-5, 6-4, in a duel of unranked bets in the premier 18-U division of the Group 2 tournament put up by the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Pera Padala headed by president/CEO Bobby Castro.
The second seeded Estanislao, on the other hand, proved too tough for top seed Jester Ocio, scoring a 6-0, 6-1 triumph to clinch the boys’ 16-U diadem then the Letran College mainstay from Caloocan City took the 18-U plum with a 6-3, 4-0(ret.) victory over Miguel Vicencio.
“We would like to thank the PPS-PEPP for this event and its continued support to our junior sports development program,” said Pulilan Mayor Ma. Rosario Ochoa-Montejo.
Local bet Vicencio earlier snared the 14-U crown, outlasting Keno Enriquez, 6-4, 7-6(5), while Emana likewise struck back to claim the 12-U trophy with a 1-0 (ret.) win over Ma. Sophia Moreno.
Other winners in the event, presented by Dunlop and backed by Asiatraders Corp., were Nhiele Dilao from Sta. Rosa, Laguna, who wore down sibling Vhiele, 4-2, 1-4, 12-10 (10-unisex), and Sampaloc, Manila’s Joshua Diva, who trounced Enriquez, 6-4, 6-1 (boys’ 12-U).
Meanwhile, action in the nationwide, year-long circuit, sanctioned by the Unified Tennis Philippines, made up of PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s, Dunlop, Slazenger and B-Meg, shifts to Mindanao this weekend with the Zamboanga del Norte Liloy leg on Aug. 24-27 to be followed by the Salug stop on Aug. 31-Sept. 3 and the Sindangan tournament on Sept. 7-10. Listup is ongoing. For details, call PPS-PEPP Program Development director Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.