Yan masters field, bags two Palawan plums

MANILA, Philippines - Master Yan lived up to his name and dominated two rivals to capture two crowns while Maria del Rose Duran also came away with a double victory in the Palawan Pawnshop Regional age-group tennis tournament at Baybay Tennis Club in Baybay, Leyte yesterday.

The top-seeded Yan, one of the leading players in Baybay, beat Aeron Carunggay, 6-0, 6-4, to cop the boys’ 18-and-under plum then posted the same scoreline over Paolo Loreto for the 16-under title in the Group 2 tournament hosted by Baybay Tennis Club.

Duran, from Eastern Samar, matched Yan’s two-win romp in the girls’ side, trouncing Alyka Sumapig, 6-0, 6-2, for the 16-and-under crown and dominating Aira Barcial, 6-1, 6-0, in the 14-and-under finals of the four-day event sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop through COO Bobby Castro and Technosports president Guillermo Nocom.

“The Baybay, Leyte province would like to thank Palawan Pawnshop, Babolat and Philta for bringing this top-level tournament here for our youth. This is indeed a big boost to local tennis here and we’re thankful to the organizers and sponsors for staging this tournament for free,” said Ali Astorga, president of Baybay Tennis Club.

Top seed Keiza Jabines took the girls’ 18-and-under title with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over sibling Jeminnah Jabines while second seed Gia Cari stunned top seed Patricia Abaday, 6-0, 6-0, to clinch the girls’ 12-and-under crown.

Marc Nicole Suson also posted a twin kill, defeating Joshua Torres twice, 6-3, 6-0, in the boys’ 14-and-under finals and 6-2, 6-4 in the 12-and-under division.

Ep-Ep Nuñez, meanwhile, smothered GM Basalo, 6-2, 6-1, to annex the 10-unisex title.

“By staging open tournaments of this kind, we hope to encourage more youth to take up the sport,” said Philta president and Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez. “With a year-round, nationwide program, we hope to discover new talents who can be developed and trained to become members of the national pool.”