Cortes gains upset over No. 4 Armama

MANILA, Philippines - Joselito Cortes produced the first upset win in the Juntaphil Cup, stunning fourth seed Ahmad Armama, 6-1, 7-6(2) in the boys’ 21-under division at the Baguio Tennis Club outdoor courts in Burnham Park Monday.

Cortes dished out a near-flawless game in the first set then turned back Armama’s charge in the second to complete the win and gain the first berth in the quarterfinal round of the centerpiece event.

Radharani Reyes, meanwhile, pounded out a 4-6, 7-5, 10-2 win over Martin de Castro to clinch the second quarters seat in the Philta-sanctioned Group 2 tournament organized by Juntaphil and sponsored by First Gen Corp. and Smart Communications with Techni-fibre Balls, APM-Agricom, Pet-One, Accel, Kimura Chaves and friends of Juntaphil as backers.

Top seed Deo Talatayod, on the other hand, led the surge of the fancied bets in the boys’ 18-under class, whipping Andre Brillantes, 6-0, 6-1, to arrange a second round clash with Lance Canizares, who scored a walkover win over Miguel Bustamante.

Other winners were Jeremiah Latorre, Jasper Tan, Raul Magno, Jed Panhulan, Joshua Cano and Armama.

Eric Olivarez, Jr. also shocked top ranked Kyle Joseph in the 16-under category, pulling off a 2-6, 6-2, 13-11 decision to set up a second round duel with Mohamad Amerol.

Also advancing were Al Canizares, Mikee Teng, Joshua Cano, Marcen Gonzales, Alfonso Opulencia, Justin Asilo, Marc Agner, Kyle Parpan, Daniel Villasenor, Vernon Huibonhua, Joel Atienza and second seed Hans Asistio.

In girls play, top seed Anne Castillo, No. 2 Patricia Orteza, No. 3 Monika Banez and fourth seed Crizabelle Paulino drew opening round byes to advance to the quarters of the 18-under class while Castillo also leads the contenders in the 16-under division along with Angela Gonzales, Jell Arevado, Monika Banez, Angela Sunga, Isabela Orteza, Bernadette Balce, Crizabelle Paulino, Monivic Santos, Biangca Bongco, Catherine De Castro and second seed Katrina Orteza.