Kiwis break Pinoys’ hearts: New Zealand edges Philippines in Davis Cup Group II finals

CEBU, Philippines - The Philippines' bid to return to top tier in tennis was dealt with a crushing blow after the Pinoy netters faltered at the hands of New Zealand via a 3-2 cliffhanger in the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group II finals that ended at dawn yesterday at the posh Plantation Bay Resort and Spa in Lapu-Lapu City.

With the country's fate hanging on his shoulders after a 2-2 deadlock,  Fil-Am Treat Conrad Huey gave his all-out best in the rubbermatch but he ran out of gas when it mattered most on the way to dropping a heart-breaking 5-7, 4-6, 6-3 ,6-1, 6-3 decision to the Kiwi braveheart Michael Venus.

Interestingly, it was also Venus who delivered New Zealand's first win after he outgunned Ruben Gonzales, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-0 in the first singles. Jose “Rubin” Statham then blasted ITF 'Commitment' awardee Johnny Arcilla in straight sets, 6-4 ,6-2, 6-4 to give the Kiwis a commanding 2-0 lead.

The Pinoys, however, staged a courageous fightback, with Huey and Francis Casey Alcantara prevailing over Marcus Daniell and Artem Sitak, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in the doubles event.

Still down 1-2 in the tie and needing a win to stay alive, Gonzales responded as he came back from a 3-5 deficit in the fourth set and showed nerves of steel in the deciding fifth to escape with a dramatic, come-from-behind 7-6 (2), 4-6, 1-6, 7-5, 8-6 victory over higher-ranked Jose Statham to forge the rubbermatch.

Huey, last-minute replacement to Johnny Arcilla, appeared headed to completing the host country’s big turnaround from 0-2 down when impressively seized the first two sets but lost steam in the end.

The Kiwis, thus, move up to Group I next year together with Uzbekistan, South Korea, and Chinese Taipei, Phl stays in Group II alongside Thailand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Kuwait. The Pinoys will have to wait another year for a chance to regain their old place they held two years back.

“We fought to the end,” said Phl’s non-playing team captain Roland Kraut.

The final day had all the markings of a classic as both matches ended up in marathon five-setters lasting around 10 hours including a two-hour lull in the middle of the fourth set of the Gonzales-Statham duel due to downpour.

And there were some sideshows too as PHILTA Vice President and Phl Davis Cup team administrator Randy Villanueva was challenged to separate fights by New Zealand's non-playing skipper Allistair Hunt, their bald physical therapist and Sitak.

It was with Hunt that the commotion escalated as he and Villanueva got into a shoving and shouting match right after Gonzales defeated Statham before people intervened to prevent the incident from getting worse.

It actually started when Statham intentionally hit one of the linesman with the ball in frustration that triggered jeers and a shouting match first between Villanueva and the therapist, then Sitak and then Hunt.

The day before, members of the team reported one of the Kiwis threw the ball at them after the game that the Filipinos let it pass.

Villanueva, who flew to Malaysia yesterday, apologized for his actions.

After the commotion, organizers had put on ropes and cordoned the area where the players and officials are positioned while putting uniformed policemen and venue security men around the area to prevent another untoward incident from happening.—with Philippine STAR News Service