Santos makes dent in Palawan netfest

MANILA, Philippines - Alexie Santos flashed top form and came away with a three-title romp in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional age-group tennis circuit presented by Technifibre, including the girls’ 18-and-under crown in Puerto Princesa over the weekend.

Santos, one of the Puerto Princesa’s rising stars, overpowered Khyshana Hitosis, 6-2, 6-3, to cap her domination of the premier division of the week-long event that also served as part of the host city’s summer festival.

Earlier, the No. 2 Santos mastered top seed Averille Sacapano with her solid baseline game, scoring a 6-2, 6-1 win for the 16-and-U title after fashioning out a 6-1, 6-1 triumph in the 14-and-U finals of the Group 2 tournament sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association.

The young Sacapano settled for the 12-and-U diadem as she routed Stephanie Cornello, 6-0, 6-0, while Jerry Louis Ong took the 10-unisex crown with a 6-0, 6-1 victory over Lance Ubay.

Iloilo’s Luke Flores, on the other hand, captured two titles in the boys’ side, beating Nathan Songco, 6-1, 6-3, in the 18-and-U finals and holding off Matthew Flores, 6-4, 6-4, to annex the 16-and-U plum.

“Santos, Flores and Sacapano represent the future of Philippine tennis. By providing this series of nationwide tournaments, we hope to discover and produce more players who could be tapped and developed to become members of the national pool,” said Palawan Pawnshop COO Bobby Castro.

Second seed Maxine Paul Ong stunned top seed Matthew Flores, 6-1, 6-1, to snare the boys’ 14-and-U crown while No. 2 Raven Hitosis also shocked top seed Sebastian Santos, 7-6(5), 6-1, to pocket the 12-and-U title.