MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Tennis Academy (PTA), a privately funded tennis development program launched last year, will send two of its young trainee-athletes to Malaysia and Thailand to compete in international tournaments as part of PTA’s program.
Khim Iglupas, 13, from Tubod, Iligan, and Arthur Pantino, 11, a native of Ormoc, are set to join Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) tournaments in Kuching, Sarawak, Kota Kinabalut, Sabah, and in Bangkok, Thailand from August to October.
Pantino, a diminutive power hitter who has been playing in older age groups after dominating 12 and under local tournaments, may also be sent to California to play in American 12 and under competitions to culminate in the Orange Bowl tournament in Florida.
“For his size and age, Arthur already plays a power game while Khim has more variety in her shots. Aside from the regular training schedule we patterned after Spain, we are also following the model that worked before for Felix Barrientos and Niño Alcantara who competed regularly abroad at a young age.
and were able to get American college scholarships,” said PTA program director Andy Maglipon.
“I want to play and win in Wimbledon in the future,” said Pantino who studies under a home study program at the University of San Carlos in Cebu as he has been staying in Manila already.
“My dream is to play in Grand Slam tournaments,” said Iglupas, a gifted player, according to PTA coaching staff headed by Jun Toledo.
Both Pantino and Iglupas were discovered by tennis patron Rommie Chann who together with Jean Henri Lhuillier, Oscar Hilado, and Hanky Lee, are the primary backers of the PTA.
PTA has already set up satellite training centers in different areas in the Visayas and Mindanao as part of its talent identification program.
“We need to have more kids included in our program but we also need to raise more funds for this,” said Maglipon.