Eala rips foe, nears second First Gen crown

MANILA, Philippines - Michael Eala bundled out Aljohn Talatayod, 4-0, 4-1, to move a win away from retaining his 10-unisex crown even as Samantha Coyiuto thwarted Patricia Paez, 6-3, 6-2, to advance to the girls’ 18-and-under final in the First Gen Juntaphil Metro Age Group Tennis Championships at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center yesterday.

The top-seeded Eala sustained his amazing form, dropping just one game against Talatayod and two in four matches to arrange a title duel with Ryotaro Shimomura, who ended Karl Miguel’s giant-killing spree with a come-from-behind 0-4, 5-3, 5-3 victory.

It was actually a sorry loss for the left-handed Miguel, an incoming Grade 4 student from Laoag who upset second seed Hiromasa Ishikawa and No. 7 Jan Trillanes to gain a crack at the finals slot.

He was impressive in his 4-0 win in the first set against Shimomura but cracked when pressed by the sixth-seeded bet, who hung tough to eke out the win.

Coyiuto, meanwhile, imposed her will against Paez to clinch the straight-set win in the girls’ premier division of the Group I tournament presented by First Gen Corporation and sponsored by Smart Communications.

She will take on the winner of the Angela Sunga-Roxanne Resma duel being played at presstime.

Top seed Rafa Villanueva likewise breezed through the finals of the girls 12-U with a 6-1, 6-2 rout of Mikaela Vicencio to set up a showdown with third seed Bettina Bautista, who rallied from a set down and outlasted Alex Eala in a thrilling decider, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.

In the boys’ 14-U, top seed Christian Lopez overpowered Brysl Libao, 6-0, 6-1, to advance to the semis against No. 6 Sohaimen Mama, who repulsed fourth seed Joel Atienza, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.

Fighting for the other finals berth are third seed Cenon Gonzales Jr., who edged John Cerezo, 7-5, 7-6(4) and No. 8 Chris Prulla, who stunned second seed Jerome Romualdez, 6-2, 6-3.

No. 1 Jake Martin also coasted to the semis in the boys’ 12-U with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Gabrielle Tiamson. The top Xavier bet faces Marraphael Teng, who downed Manuel Balce III, 6-0, 6-4.

Eala took the other semis berth with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Justin Suarez and will collide with Angleo Saraza, who tripped Luis Ong, 6-2, 6-3, for the other finals seat in the event backed by Technifibre as official ball, and RCBC, Pet One, Brother Sewing Machines and conducted by Juntaphil.