Enrile lauds Phl’s Davis Cup romp

MANILA, Philippines - UNA senatorial candidate Jack Enrile lauded today the Philippines’ 4-1 victory over Thailand in Davis Cup play, while expressing hopes for an upset win by the country over New Zealand in the next round.

Enrile said that the Philippine win over Thailand showed that tennis, like the sport of practical shooting, is an event in which Filipinos can be very competitive internationally.

Enrile is the founder of the Philippine Practical Shooting Association, whose members harvested 63 medals (30 gold, 22 silver and 11 bronzes) in the Handgun Championships held in New Zealand.

“Our shooters did very well in New Zealand and I have high hopes that our Davis Cup netters would buck tall odds in beating their New Zealand rivals. I know that’s a tall order because the Kiwis defeated us resoundingly in 2011,” said Enrile.

“But we were also the underdogs when we faced Thailand, which prevailed in its last meeting with the Philippines in 1999 and which has at present players ranked higher than ours,” he pointed out.

Tennis and practical shooting are two sports in which size or height hardly matters, said Enrile.

Ruben Gonzales won both his singles matches, while the duo of Francis Alcantara and Treat Huey won the lone doubles to post the clinching wins. Alcantara won the last reverse singles to make it a 4-1 win for the Philippines.