Palawan Pawnshop, Technosports boost jr tennis

MANILA, Philippines - Junior tennis got a major boost as Palawan Pawnshop and Technosports re-affirmed its support to the Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) by co-staging a 27-leg nationwide circuit that will keep the young netters busy all season.

The Philta-Palawan Pawnshop Regional Age-Grouper will fire off Jan. 17-20 in Dumalag, Capiz and will end Dec. 13-17 in Manila, covering the key cities of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao in the group’s continuing effort to develop the sport and discover talents who could be trained and developed for future national teams.

“It has been our desire to help boost the sport and at the same time tap new talents who can be developed to become world class athletes,” said Bobby Castro, COO of Palawan Pawnshop.

Inspired by the success of their 15-stage tour last year, launched to address the need for a national tournament program for junior tennis, Philta, Palawan Pawnshop and Technosports’ have lined up a year-round circuit also designed as a conduit of Philta in developing a positive outlook among the youth.

“The Philta-Palawan Pawnshop regional age-group series hopes to serve as a venue for junior players to hone their skills and talents and give opportunities to compete against the best,” said Philta president and Parañaque Rep. Edwin Olivarez.

He added that the program is designed to instill the benefits of physical fitness and core values that promote tennis and aid in addressing the problem of juvenile delinquency.

“By putting up this series of tournaments, we hope to discover talents. There are just too many of them, especially in the countryside,” said Guillermo Nocom, president of Technosports, exclusive distributor of Babolat equipment in the country. “By year’s end, we should be able to identify them and provide the necessary training and exposure.”

The series of tournaments will also provide free clinics and coaches’ workshops for local mentors to be conducted by the national coaches as well as basic officiating seminars.