Kyle Cyd Villamar grabbed the no. 1 seeding from erstwhile top bet Thomas Gabuat following his breakthrough run in Maranding last week as they banner the field in the PPS-PEPP national age-group tennis circuit, which resumed Thursday in Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental.
Villamar, 15, snapped Gabuat’s romp in the Mindanao swing of the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala tour with a 5-3, 4-0 win in the semis. The Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte bet then repelled McLeen Gomera, 6-2, 6-7(5), 10-8, to claim the boys’ 16-and-under crown at the Maranding courts last Tuesday.
Though Villamar yielded the 18-U trophy to Christopher Sonsona, his runner-up effort was enough to net him the top seeding in both the 16- and 18-U divisions for this week’s battle for ranking points in the Group 2 tournament presented by Dunlop.
But Gabuat is out for redemption while the likes of Sindangan leg winner Vince Serna, Pete Bandala, Cyril Paster and Gomera (18-U) and Johnny Caedo III, Benedict Lim, Andrei Esick, Leigh Omandam and Gomera (16-U) are all eager and ready to foil the top two players’ title bids.
Ma. Judyann Padilla and AJ Acabo likewise gear up for another fierce duel in the top two categories in the girls’ side while Marlyn Mesiona targets win No. 6 in the 14-U division of the circuit put up by Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro and held under the auspices of the Unified Tennis Philippines and UTR (Universal Tennis Rating).
For details, contact event organizer Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.
Lim and Bandala, meanwhile, set out to dispute the boys’ 14-U diadem while Ursal Pazz and Yuree Madrona (boys) and Vienne Cagas and Hanna Jumawan (girls) headline the field in the 12-U class.