CEBU, Philippines - Little-known Mary Kristine Bellita stunned the much favored Cheska Tabotabo in straight sets at the start of the 14th Gullas Cup tennis tournament yesterday at the Baseline Tennis Center.
Bellita dumped Tabotabo, 6-1, 6-4 to reach the second round of the girls 16-under class.
In the same age bracket, Cebu’s Janice Cañete hurdled her first assignment with a dominating 6-1, 6-1 triumph over Kyle Longakit, while Zamboanga’s Nina Ladera overcame a stubborn challenge from Anna Bienes, 6-2, 7-6.
In the girls 12-under, Athena Montecillo and Mary Toledo got off to winning starts.
Montecillo grabbed a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Miljew Nebria, while Toledo clobbered Crizelle Castro with relative ease, 6-1, 6-0.
Results in the boys division at the Cebu Country Club were not immediately available as of this writing.
The Gullas Cup is the biggest age-group tournament in Southern Philippines being a PHILTA Group 2-sanctioned event.
Aside from earning points needed to augment their PHILTA rankings, the top performers will also get a gift certificate from event sponsors.
More to it, a P10, 000 worth of Babolat racquet will be given away to the Most Outstanding Player of the week-long tilt. - THE FREEMAN