MISAMIS Oriental bet Merkisslyn Ubay-ubay led the winners at the recent Butuan City leg of the Cebuana Lhuillier Age Group Tennis Championship Series , now on its 11th year of discovering and developing young tennis champions from the provinces, as she ruled both the girls 16 & under and 18 7 under categories with straight set victories.
Ubay-ubay overwhelmed 14-under champion Joshee Dominique Malazarte, 6-2, 6-0, for the 16-under title and duplicated it with another lopsided win over local player Angelly Esguerra 6-4, 6-0 in the 18-under category of the tournament hosted by the Butuan Capitol Tennis Club and the Luz VillageTennis Club and supported by Dunlop as the official ball.
Malazarte, representing Agusan del Norte, meanwhile, took the 14- under crown at the expense of Agusan del Sur’s Yra Montecarlo, 6-2, 6-2.
“We have always believed that we will find promising players in the provinces, who given the opportunity, can emerge and become champions. Ubay-ubay is one of them,” said Jean Henri Lhuillier, President/CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier.
The other individual winner in the distaff side was Hilary Sophie Paes from Surigao del Sur after she beat provincemate Denise Arreza, 6-1, 6-1, in the 12-under finals.
In the doubles’ side, Malazarte shared with May Arabella Alejandro the 14-under girls’ doubles title with an 8-3 win over Shara faith Coreos and Paes.
Kyla Jane Gedon partnered with Abbygail Singcol for an 8-5 win over Nanami Suzuki and Esguerra in the 18-under championship match.
Vince Cerna and Steffi Marithe Aludo were the double winners in the boys’ side as they both won an individual and a share of a doubles title. Local bet Cerna posted a 6-2, 6-1 win over Surigao del Sur’s Dirk Andre Quesada for the 12-under crown then teamed up with Kirby Quejada for the 14-under title with an 8-5 win over Aaron Jacque Geromo and Harland Hogan.
Geromo made up for the loss by ruling the 14-under boys’ crown as he beat his doubles’ partner Hogan, 6-1, 6-3, in the finals.
Aludo held sway in the 10-under category as he beat Quezada, 4-1,4-0, in their championship match, and followed it up with a doubles’ victory in the same category as he and partner Spencer Codilla defeated Arriene Coreos and Justin Kennedy Detalla 4-1, 4-0.
Familiar name Marc Nicole Suson from Cebu City topped the 16- under boys’ group by retiring Stephen Zion Guia, 6-3, 1-0, while Guia consoled himself by winning the 18-under title in two sets, 6-3, 6-4, at the expense of Codilla.
Relative unknowns Prince Bo Lastimosa and Emanuel Pedrosa emerged 18-under doubles’ champions with a close 8-6 victory over Junmar Cahatian and John Carlo Mar to round up the winners’ circle.