Palawan’s Santos wins big at PPTO Bacolod leg

MANILA, Philippines - Fifteen year-old Alexie Santos of Puerto Princesa, Palawan ruled the Bacolod regional leg of the Peugeot Philippines Tennis Open (PPTO) last November 23-29, bagging both the women’s singles championship and women’s doubles championship with her mother, Melinda Santos. The mother and daughter tandem has secured their places in the PPTO National Finals scheduled in February 2016.

The younger Santos did not let her guard down as she crushed Rosalie Clelo with a 6-0, 6-0 victory for the women’s singles championship title. She then teamed up with her mother in the women’s doubles division for an exciting 7-5, 6-4 win against their opponents, Anabelle Zaragoza and Margie Escher. The PPTO Bacolod leg is the first time the mother-daughter tandem played doubles in a tournament. When asked about how it was like to play and win the tournament with her mother, Alexie said, “I was nervous at first, but after several plays, I felt confident and comfortable. Overall, it was really fun playing with my mom. We learned a lot of things including teamwork and the experience strengthened our relationship as mother and daughter.”

Meanwhile, current Philippine Tennis Association Men’s Singles No. 6 seed Vicente Elberto Anasta dominated the men’s singles championship match, edging over his opponent John Altiche with a 6-3, 6-1 win.

In the men’s doubles division, Cebu’s top player Janjie Soquino and Leyte’s top seed Amiel Aya-ay proved to be a formidable team, beating local favorites Mclean Barraquias and Karl Mark Gayo, 6-2, 6-0, at the Center Court Tennis Club in Bacolod City.

“We continue to be impressed with the skills and talent of Filipino tennis players as the Peugeot Philippines Tennis Open holds its regional qualifying legs,” Glen Dasig, Peugeot Philippines president, said. “We expect to see more exciting match-ups in the next stops of the PPTO in Nueva Ecija, Cebu and Manila.”

Aside from cash prizes from Peugeot Philippines and giveaways from tournament sponsor, Wilson, champions of the PPTO Bacolod leg will face the other winners of the four other regional qualifying legs in the National Finals to be held in Manila in February 2016.

The PPTO’s Nueva Ecija leg culminate last Sunday, December 6. The PPTO will then head to Cebu on January 9-15, 2016 for its next regional qualifying leg.

Filipino tennis players aged 13 and above who are interested in joining the competition simply need to head to the nearest Peugeot dealership, regional representatives or visit the official PPTO 2015 website (http://www.peugeottennis.ph) to download the registration and waiver forms. A fee of P500 is required to be paid in full when the players check-in on Day 1 to complete their entry in the tournament. For other PPTO information, updates and results, players may also visit the tournament’s official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PeugeotPHTennisOpen.