Lim powers Letran to NC tennis crown

MANILA, Philippines - Albert Lim Jr. put on another dazzling show as he powered Letran to back-to-back championships on a remarkable 12-game sweep in the NCAA boys’ tennis competition at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center recently.

The 13-year-old find, who has triumphed in higher age divisions, capped his dominating performance by steering Letran past College of St. Benilde in the finals, 3-0.

Lim closed out his campaign without dropping a set.

In the finals, he beat Julian Dayrit, 6-3, 6-0, then teamed up with Ivan Valenzuela to trip Dayrit and Kyle Parpan, 6-4, 6-4, in the doubles.

Letran advanced to the finals by downing San Sebastian with Lim, the youngest player to reach the round of 16 of the PCA Open, scoring a 6-0, 6-2 win over Argin Lance Canizarez.

For his feat, Lim became the youngest back-to-back MVP winner in the country’s oldest collegiate tournament. That augured well for his upcoming stint in the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open.

The first Filipino finalist in the tough Orange Bowl Tennis Championship, Lim is also preparing for two local tournaments, including the Mitsubishi International Juniors championships. He will also take part in the Ajay Pathak Memorial Cup.

He’s now ranked No. 370 in the world after his victory in the 16-years division of the 2012 Thamrin International Junior Tennis Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Last November, he teamed up with Singaporean Rohan Kamdar to beat Taiwanese Lee Li-Lun and Lin Kuan-Chen, 6-4, 2-6, 10-8, for the boys’ doubles title in the Summit Planners Singapore ITF Junior Championships. He also topped the opening leg of the Phinma International Juniors ITF Circuit at the Rizal Memorial. Tennis Center.