MANILA, Philippines - Third seed Khim Iglupas pulled off a shock three-setter over top seed Clarice Patrimonio to crash into the finals of the ladies Open singles while second seed Johnny Arcilla wore down No. 3 Marc Reyes to gain a crack at the men’s crown in the fifth Olivarez Cup Open Tennis Championship at the Olivarez Sports Center in Sucat yesterday.
Iglupas recovered from a first-set setback with a convincing win in the second then broke Patrimonio once in the decider in their baseline game to hack out a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory in two hours and 20 minutes.
The win earned the 16-year-old Iglupas, a protégé of Romy Chan under the Philippine Tennis Academy Manila, a seat in the finals against Edilyn Balanga, who foiled No. 4 Maia Balce’s upset bid with a 6-4, 6-4 victory in the tournament presented by Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Padala headed by COO Bobby Castro, also the president PPS-PEPS, with Technifibre as the official ball.
Balanga and Iglupas, who reached the semis of the Thailand and Jakarta ITF recently, dispute the crown starting at 1 p.m. today.
“Khim’s win further underscored the gains made by our young players, whose skills and talents have been honed up with their regular exposure in the year-long, nationwide Palawan Pawnshop age-group circuit,” said Palawan Pawnshop COO Bobby Castro.
It was a big win indeed for Iligan City native Iglupas, who primed herself up against Patrimonio with straight-set wins over Aimea Rosales, Mae Marilla and Marinel Rudas. Though she succumbed to the top seed bet’s power in the opener, Iglupas came through with big adjustments to dominate the second frame before sustaining her form and pouncing on her rival’s errors to pull off biggest reversal in the event stage in honor of one of the founding fathers of Philippine tennis Dr. Pablo Olivarez on his 80th birthday.
Arcilla, on the other hand, scored a 6-2, 2-6, 5-0(ret.) win over Reyes, who suffered cramps after slugging it out with his veteran rival for two hours and 35 minutes.
Arcila, the many-time PCA Open champion, came into the semis oozing with confidence following lopsided victories over Joshua Kinaadman, Arvin Ruel and Mark Alcoseba. He appeared headed for another romp after cruising to a 6-2 win over Reyes in the opening frame but the Fil-Italian ace struck back in the second to force a decider.
Top seed PJ Tierro and No. 4 Vicente Anasta were disputing the other finals berth at presstime.