Eala, Santiago bag PSC net crowns

MANILA, Philippines - Top seed Mico Eala overwhelmed second seed Marcus del Rosario, 6-2, 6-2, while No. 2 Francesca Angela Santiago scored a walkover win over Monica Therese Cruz to rule their respective divisions in the second PSC/Philta age group tennis championships at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center yesterday.

Eala, playing out of Xavier School, broke Del Rosario twice in the opening set then re-asserted his domination of the Theresiana Dame School bet in the second to complete the romp and pocket the Unisex 10-under crown in the rain-hit tournament sponsored by the Philippine Sports Commission.

Santiago, on the other hand, took the girls’ Under-12 diadem after the Bicol-based Cruz failed to show up in the finals after stunning top seed Chrislyn Sioson in three in the semis of the ranking tournament backed by ATP Head as official balls through Dynamic Sports.

Eala and Santiago thus gained 200 ranking points each with Del Rosario and Cruz settling for 150.

Meanwhile, the finals in other categories, halted by intermittent rains, are still being played at presstime with top seed Marian Capadocia and No. 2 Ma. Angela Sunga disputing the girls’ premier U-18 crown.

The 15-year-old Sunga is also vying for the U-16 title against Roxanne Resma while top seed Erika Manduriao thwarted Nicole Amistad, 6-4, 6-3, to advance to U-14 finals.

No. 4 Calvin Canlas bounced back from a second set loss to stop Eric Olivarez Jr., 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, and set up a semis clash with second seed Betto Orendain in the boys’ U-18 division. The other finals berth is being disputed by top seed Dheo Talatayod and No. 3 Kyle Parpan.

In boys’ U-16, Marcen Angelo Gonzales trounced Vernon Huibonhua in the third set to complete a 6-0, 3-6, 6-0 win for a semis duel with Parpan, who held of Orendain, 7-6(6), 1-6, 6-3, while No. 7 Andrew Joshua Cano stunned third seed Romnee Kyle Joseph, 6-2, 6-1, for a spot in the semis in the upper half of the draw.

In U-14 class, top ranked Julian Dayrit blanked Mimo Tomacruz, 6-0, 6-0, to arrange a title clash with Mikio Shimomura, who upset No. 5 Arthur Craig Pantino, 6-3, 6-4.

Pantino, on the other hand, is vying for the U-12 title against No. 6 Marcus del Rosario in the event featuring the country’s leading junior players.