Olivarez, Capadocia rule Toby's netfest

MANILA, Philippines - Eric Olivarez Jr. stamped his class in the boys’ division while Marian Jade Capadocia topped the girls’ side in the Toby’s Sports-PLDT-SMART Foundation 11th Annual Summer Tennis Festival at the Rizal Memorial tennis courts last Sunday.

Olivarez, 14, emerged as the tournament’s biggest winner by completing a double win in the 18-under and 16-under divisions while Capadocia, 16, reigned supreme in the distaff side of the event presented by Toby’s Sports and PLDT-Smart Foundation.

After beating top-ranked Marcen Gonzales, 6-1, 6-2, for the 16-boys crown, Olivarez, seeded seventh in the 18-under class, pulled the rug from under top-seed Dheo Talatayod, 6-1, 1-6, 6-0.

“I’m very glad all my hard work finally paid off,” said the 5-foot-8 Olivarez.

The top-seeded Capadocia beat Macy Gonzales, 6-2, 6-0, to cop the 18-girls crown in the Category 2 event sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association and powered by Prince and Argentina Corned Beef.

“I was really focused to win it all,” said the 5-foot-2 Capadocia, the reigning Philippine Columbian Open champion who also teamed up with sister Jade in winning the 18-girls doubles crown with a 4-1, 4-2 win over Rachelle de Guzman and Nicole Eugenio.

“It’s really nice to see the kids improving every year,” said Toby’s Sports president Toby Claudio. “We’re happy to see the number of participants grow each year. We enjoy holding this tourney because this is where we spot the future stars of the country.”

Also scoring big wins were Roxanne Resma (16-girls), Arthur Pantino (14-boys), Michael Francis Eala (12-boys and 10-unisex), Arc Dolorito and Talatayod (18-boys doubles), Pantino and Emmanuel Fuellas (14-boys doubles) and Alexandra and Michael Eala (10-unisex).