Pinoys vie in Junior Davis Cup

With the seniors advancing to the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania zone Group II finals in Kuwait this September, three Pinoy teenagers are hoping to follow in the elders’ footsteps even as they face tough odds in the five-day, 16-nation Junior Davis Cup competitions in Bangkok starting tomorrow.

Niño Alcantara, 15, Akio Siy, 15, and Mark Balce, 16, make up the Philippine squad in the 16-and-under tournament where 16 countries in the Asia/Oceania zone are vying for four slots in the World Group.

The team leaves this morning for Bangkok with captain Johnny Jose and assistant coach Roland Kraut. The draw is scheduled in the afternoon to determine the pairings in the four-bracket eliminations.

In the tournament format, the 16 countries will be split into four per bracket. The top two in each bracket move up to the knockout quarterfinals of eight then the four survivors play off in the semifinals. The four semifinalists are assured of tickets to play in the World Group set in Europe. Matches will be played to determine rankings from 1 to 16 until the final day.

The Junior Davis Cup was inaugurated in 1985 with 44 participating countries. Today, there are 90 countries in the roster. Among the stars who’ve played in the Junior Davis Cup are Jim Courier (1986), Michael Chang (1986), Jennifer Capriati (1989), Lindsay Davenport (1991), Roger Federer (1996), Lleyton Hewitt (1996-97), Andy Roddick (1998) and Rafael Nadal (2002).

In 2005, the Philippines barged into the elite World Group and finished 13th behind Kyle Dandan, Ralph Kevin Barte and Pablo Olivarez. Dandan is now ranked No. 74 in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) world age-group ladder. Last year, the national team wound up 10th in the Asia/Oceania zone and didn’t advance to the World Group.

Kraut said the Philippine team’s goal in Bangkok is to break into the quarterfinals.

"A top eight finish is our immediate target," said Kraut. "We know the competition will be tough with Chinese-Taipei, Australia, Korea and Thailand among the favorites. But we’re ready to play. This is a good test for us because Niño and Akio will still be eligible to play next year. Although our players are rookies, they’re very capable and they’re determined to pull some surprises."

But Jose’s goal is more ambitious. "We hope we can do even better than 2005," said the former Asian Games gold medalist. That means Jose is setting his sights on a top four finish to qualify for the World Group then place higher than 13th in the elite level.

Kraut said Alcantara will play singles and doubles as the country’s top age-grouper in his class. He was No. 1 in Asia in the 14-and-under category last year.

Alcantara, ranked No. 467 in the ITF 18-and-under boys division, saw action at the Asian Closed Junior Championships in Taipei two weeks ago. In the first round, he upset No. 38 and second-seed Kittiphong Wachiramanowong of Thailand, 6-0, 6-4. Then, Alcantara disposed of Takumi Hernandez of Japan, 6-1, 6-1. The spunky Filipino exited in the third round after losing a 6-4, 6-1 decision to 14th-seed Chen Yu Wu of China. His run merited 60 ITF points to raise his ranking to a career-high.

Siy reached the finals of the Truflex National Age Group here a few weeks ago. He downed James Murrel, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, in the semifinals before bowing to James Canete of Cebu, 6-2, 6-4, in the finals. Siy and Balce combined to upset second-seed Russell Arcilla Jr. and Canete, 7-6, 7-5, in the doubles semifinals.

Balce made it to the second round of the Mitsubishi Lancer Junior Championships recently. He was bundled out by Dandan, 6-1, 6-2, in the Truflex National Age Group and lost a 7-6, 3-6, 6-3 thriller to Murrel in the quarterfinals of the singles event.

"It’s nice to see young kids preparing hard like this to play for our country with the veterans offering help, the parents and sponsors providing support and the Philta coaching staff working together for the team," said Kraut.

"The team is prepared in terms of training, conditioning and match play. National players like Dodong Rubillar, Yannick Guba, Toto Joven, Gino Bautista and Ralph Barte have all helped out by playing sets with the guys and Jimbo Saret has guided them in their conditioning program.

"With the Davis Cup team of Cecil Mamiit, Eric Taino, P. J. Tierro and Johnny Arcilla doing well, it’s great to see the next generation following in their footsteps. Tennis is clearly back in the right direction."