Guarde bags 2 Philta-Iloilo meet titles

MANILA, Philippines - Carlyn Bless Guarde defeated Averille Sacapano twice in similar fashions to sweep the girls’ 12- and 14-and-under crowns in the Philta-Palawan Pawnshop Regional age-group tennis tournament at La Paz Tennis Club in Iloilo City last Sunday.

The top-seeded Guarde, an 11-year-old find from Sultan Kudarat, overwhelmed Sacapano, 6-1, 6-1, in the 12-and-under finals then repeated the same feat to clinch the 14-and-under title in the event which served as the second leg of the 27-stage Philta circuit sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and Technosports.

“Carlyn is but one of the rising players in the circuit and we hope to produce more in the coming legs of the circuit,” said Palawan Pawnshop COO Bobby Castro.

Khim Iglupas, meanwhile, lived up to the hype as she topped the 16-and-under class with a 6-1, 6-0 romp over No. 4 Mary Grace Zapanta while No. 2 Danielle Aligaen wore down top seed Jean Sunio, 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, to snatch the premier 18-and-U plum.

“There are just too many young, but talented players especially in the countryside. With this year-long, nationwide circuit, we believe we’ll be able to identify them by year’s end and provide the necessary training and exposure,” said Guillermo Nocom, president of Technosports, exclusive distributor of Babolat equipment in the country.

Mikko Ringia and Stefan Suarez, on the other hand, dominated the boys’ side with the former beating Matthew Crisosto, 6-2, 6-4, to bag the 18-and-U crown and the latter foiling Ringia’s twin-title bid with a 6-0, 3-0 (Ret) win in the 16-and-U finals.

Godfrey Seno took the 14-and-U crown with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over third seed Emmanuel Fuellas while Janus Ringia shut out Joshua Feca, 6-0, 6-0, to clinch the 12-and-U diadem and Alphard Bolivar foiled Althea Martires, 7-5, 6-2, to cop the 10-unisex title.

Meanwhile, action resumes Feb. 1-4 in Kalibo, Aklan for the third leg, another Group 5 tournament. For details, text or call tournament-in-charge Bobby Mangunay at 0195-4046464 or email [email protected].