MANILA, Philippines - Nicole Eugenio essayed an early upset in the Okada-Juntaphil Cup, stunning third seed Lis Magaway to barge into the quarterfinal round of the girls’ 18-under division at the Manila Polo Club in Makati yesterday.
Eugenio sprang back from a first set loss with a scrambling win in the second set then wore down Magaway in the tiebreak with a variety of shots to pull off a 2-6, 6-4 (10-4) victory.
The win set her up against Treena Gutierrez, who overwhelmed Gladys Dimaculangan, 6-0, 6-1, in the Group 3 event presented by Okada Resorts and First Gen Corp. and sponsored by Smart Communications.
Top seed Tamitha Nguyen, seeking a second straight championship after ruling last week’s First Gen Juntaphil Metro Age Group Championships, also breezed through with a 6-0, 6-0 rout of Ana Olivas for a Last 8 clash with Anne Castillo, who eked out a 1-6, 6-2 (10-5) victory over Macrine Mijares.
Second seed Jasmine Tan Ho likewise posted an easy win in the lower half of the draw as she disposed of Bea Ebriega, 6-0, 6-1, to arrange a quarterfinal showdown with Jamielyn Tafalla, who whitewashed Priscilla Flores, 6-0, 6-0.
The other Last 8 clash pits No. 4 Maika Tanpoco against Aziel Manantan, who beat Monica Bañez, 6-1, 6-0, and Isabela Mendoza, 6-4, 6-4, respectively.
In the boys’ 18-under side, No. 2 Ellison Bingcang survived John Rey Rudas, 6-2, 4-6, (10-6) to advance in the weeklong tournament organized by the Junior Tennis Association of the Philippines (Juntaphil) and backed by Pet One, RCBC, Sole Footbeds, Pepsi/Tropicana and Accel.