DAVE Palanas made his mark with a shock 6-2, 7-6 (7) reversal over third seed Brice Baisa in the semis while Stephen Fuertes stunned top seed Vince Serna in the quarters then routed No. 4 Randy Pausanos, 6-1, 6-1, on Monday as they sealed a clash for the PPS-PEPP Malita juniors tennis crown in Davao Occidental.
The eighth-ranked Palanas rode on the momentum of his victories over Jolimar Prado, 5-3, 4-1, and Yasasn Al Anazi, 5-3, 4-1, as he dominated the No. 3 Baisa in the opening frame then survived a tense-filled second set skirmish to earn a crack at the boys’ title in the Group A tournament, the biggest event staged in Davao region held side by side with the men’s and women’s Open singles hosted by Mayor Bradly Bautista.
Baisa, from Puerto Princesa, came into the event exuding confidence following a sweep of the 16- and 18-U titles in Iloilo, Roxas City, Bacolod, Imus, Cainta, Rizal and Apalit, Pampanga legs of the country’s longest-running talent-search put up by Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.
After a bye and a walkover win, Baisa trounced Gene Espinoza, 4-0, 5-4(0) in the Last 8 but struggled in the early going against Palanas and lost in a duel of nerves to the Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay native in the second set tiebreaker.
Fuertes, meanwhile, repelled Raphael Duay, 5-3, 4-2, then held off Serna, 4-2, 4-2, before the rising Digos City star overpowered Pausanos with his superb all-around game to reach the finals of the event held in coordination with Davao Occidental Governor and tennis buff Franklin Bautista.
In girls’ play, General Santos City’s Angelie Ripdos surprised top seed AJ Acabo, 4-2, 4-1, in the quarters then turned back Juliana Carvajal, 6-0, 6-4, to arrange a showdown with No. 4 Chelsea Bernaldez from Tagum City, who posted a shutout win over Mae Gorre and trounced Faith Lazaro, 6-3, 6-1, to advance to the finals of the tournament backed by ProtekTODO, PalawanPay, the Unified Tennis Philippines and UTR (Universal Tennis Rating).