All set for bigger, grander 25th Gullas Tennis Cup

CEBU, Philippines — For a bigger and grander 25th edition of the Gullas Tennis Cup set for April 16-20 in two venues  - the Alta Vista Golf and Country Club in Barangay Pardo and Citigreen Tennis Resort in Barangay Punta Princesa, Cebu City.

This was assured by the Gullas family during the formal launching of the milestone event at the Doña Andrea Multimedia Center of the University of the Visayas (UV)-Main Campus on Friday, March 7.

John Vicente “Johnvic” Gullas graced the press conference to drum up their forthcoming undertaking together with his son John Tristan (JT), nephew Jose Miguel (JMi), and tournament organizer John Pages.

Johnvic is the son of the late Jose “Dodong” Rivera Gullas, who established the Gullas Cup back in 1995.

From its humble beginnings, the Gullas Cup rose to become one of the biggest and longest-running junior tennis events in the Philippines, producing dozens of national champions and international campaigners over the years.

Among its most notable products are Jacob Lagman, Fitzgerald Tabura, Sally Mae Siso, Oswaldo Dumoran, Francis Casey ‘Niño’ Alcantara, and Norman Joseph Enriquez to name a few.

Its rich history has inspired the younger generation of the Gullases to keep the legacy of the late Dodong Gullas alive.

“We are pretty excited for this year considering that this is a quarter-century mark of this event.We, including my cousins, are very excited that the Gullas family is still doing what my late grandfather started long ago,” said JT Gullas.

“We don’t take it for granted now that it’s been around for 25 years already,” JMi Gullas added.

Aside from unveiling the new logo in line with their silver anniversary celebration, JMi announced that they are also bringing back the traditional “Fellowship Night” to give the participants a chance to mingle with each other and relax in the face of stiff competition.

Pages, who helps out in running the show since its inception a quarter of a century ago, is as excited as the Gullases.

“Thank you to the Gullas family for continuing this legacy. Of course, we had to stop during the pandemic but I think the timing of the popularity of tennis with Alex Eala and the continuing legacy of the Gullas Cup is really perfect,” Pages said.

In all, eight categories will be contested. These are the boys and girls 12, 14, 16, and 18 Under.

“From 180 last year, we hope to exceed 200-plus participants,” Pages continued. “We’re going to invite Manila players to come over. We’re also expecting more participants from Luzon and Mindanao this time.”

The Philippine Tennis Association (PHILTA) Group 2-sanctioned tilt promises more opportunities for the young aspiring netters as the champion in each category will earn as much as 120 ranking points, underscoring its prestige in the national tennis calendar.

Registration starts on Monday, March 9. Those interested to join may visit the Gullas Tennis Cup Facebook page for further details.