CEBU, Philippines - The Siso siblings Sally Mae and Niño needed only less than an hour to fend off separate rivals and secure final slots in their respective divisions in the 16th Gullas Cup tennis tournament yesterday at the Cebu Country Club.
Sally Mae dismissed Tacloban’s Grace Melchor, 6-0, 6-1 in the girls 18-under semifinal. She will fight for the gold either against Elma Dasian or Christine Belleta.
Not to be outdone, Niño easily dismantled Troy Pintor, 6-0, 6-2 to set up a gold medal match against Dan Cinco in the boys 18-under class.
In the boys 16 category, Francis Parangan set up against a titular showdown against John Necesario. Parangan rallied past Mac-Mac Enriquez, 7-6, 3-6, 10-5, while Necesario met little resistance in a 6-1, 6-4 whacking of Jared Laurel.
On the other hand, Godfrey Seno and Arthur Craig Pantino set themselves up for a grand final duel in the boys 12-under. Seno advanced following a masterful 6-0, 6-1 demolition of Carl Balondo, while Pantino was similarly impressive in a 6-2, 6-1 rout of Francis Lambayan.
Over at the Casino Español de Cebu, Hannah Grace Espinosa moved one step away from clinching the girls 16-under crown she missed last year after dumping Glory Faith Bohol, 6-1, 6-2.
Espinosa will face in the final Claire Lazaga, who booted out Elgy Dasian, 6-2, 6-3.
In the boys 14, Justin Asilo will slug it out with Joshua Kinaadman for the championship, while Earl Coleen Maxilum and Mark Suson will lock up honors for the unisex 10-under title.
Asilo chalked up a 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Paulo So, while Kinaadman outsmarted Christopher Encarnacion, 6-1,6-2.
Suson, for his part, pulled off a 7-6, 6-0 victory over Adrian Kinaadman, while Maxilum powered his way to a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Sebastian Santos. (FREEMAN)