Ruel, a member of the Philippine Davis Cup team since 2000, dug deep in his bag of tricks to survive a tough second set and maintained his focus in the third set to forge a championship showdown with Olongapo City pride Patrick John Tierro at 9 a.m. today.
The 18-year-old Tierro, finalist in the Subic Open last week, scored a 6-2, 6-2 semifinal victory over fifth seed Adelo Abadia.
"Joseph was playing well until the second set when he relaxed. I took advantage of his overconfidence and I made him run," said the 26-year-old Ruel, who is making his second final appearance after losing to Johnny Arcilla in the Mandaue Open last month.
Victorino, another member of the Davis Cup team, took a 2-0 lead in the third set but Ruel rallied to win the next three games at 3-2. Victorino held his serve at 3-3 but Ruel played aggressively to wrap up the match in two hours, 25 minutes.
"I did not expect to win over Victorino because he beat me in the semifinals of the Mandaluyong Open two weeks ago. But the way he played today and the way I played, I was getting more confident as the match wore on," said Ruel, who is now 3-2 against Victorino in their head-on encounter. He beat Victorino in the Mandaue Open semis.
"Sana, makabawi naman ako ngayon kay Tierro," said Ruel, who is 0-2 against Tierro, who is eyeing his first Open title after two runnerup finishes in tournaments played in Subic.
Tierro, who trained for two months in the Pat Cash Tennis Academy in Brisbane, Australia, is considered as the country’s most promising junior. He played for the World Youth Cup team three years ago and was named to the RP Davis Cup team this year.
"Basta ako, laro lang. I always give my best in every match," said the 6-foot-1 Tierro beat Ruel in two legs of the Cebuana Lhuillier Tennis Circuit held at the SBMA courts.
Abadia, a member of the national team since 1998, was impressed with Tierro’s mental and physical conditioning. "Talagang magaling, alam kung ano ang gagawin sa bawat sitwasyon. Malaki ang kinabukasan niya sa tennis."
In the men’s doubles, top seeds Johnny and Jomar Arcilla defeated Joel Palao and Randy Villanueva, 6-2, 6-2, to advance in the semifinals against fourth seeds Chemiel Mantua and Rolando Ruel Jr., who beat Joseph Arcilla and Rocky Paglalunan, 6-3, 6-1.
Second seeds Michael Mora III and PJ Tierro outlasted Bo Alburo and Neil Bulilan, 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-1, to advance against third seeds Abadia and Victorino, 6-1, 6-4 winners over Jun Lagac and Alexander Lazaro.
In the ladies singles division, top seed Czarina Mae Arevalo downed third seed Alyssa Ann Labay, 6-2, 6-0, to advance in the final against fourth seed Aileen Rogan, a 6-1, 6-2 winner over second seed Bien Zoleta.
Arevalo and Jennifer Saret, the doubles top seeds, outclassed Petrona Bantay and Divina Escala, 6-1, 6-0, to arrange a championship duel with second seeds Zoleta and Rogan, 7-5, 6-0 winners over third seeds Ivy de Castro and Labay.