Saraza, Gonzales eye repeat

MANILA, Philippines - Chloe Mae Saraza and Cenon Gonzales hope to sustain their fine form as they gun for repeat wins in their respective divisions in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional age group tennis at the Brookside Hills Tennis Club in Cainta, Rizal today.

Saraza, who swept Rafaella Villanueva to pocket the 16- and 18-and-under titles at Valle Verde last week, faces a tougher challenge this time, however, with Chrislyn Sioson and Nicole Amistad joining the hunt in the premier section of the event presented by Technifibre.

Sioson is also entered in the 16-U field that includes Bettina Bautista and Mikaela Vicencio, guaranteeing a slambang action not only in the girls’ side but also in the boys division of the five-day event serving as the seventh leg of the 38-stage circuit put up by the country’s leading pawnshop, remittance and claim center and sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association.

“This is going to be an interesting week with Saraza up against two of our talented juniors in Sioson and Amistad. We also expect some surprises in the boys side with so many new faces emerging,” said Philta president and Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez.

Gonzales, on the other hand, seeks his third victory in the 16-U class after repulsing Jerome Romualdez in Ormoc and Emmanuel Fuellas last week. Out to foil his bid are Manuel Balce III, Jose San Buenaventura, Marraphael Teng, Stephan Lhuillier, Jules Lazaro and Santino Vistan.

Vincent Alanis and Fuellas, meanwhile, banner the cast in the boys’ 18-U that also features John Angelo Cerezo, Elijah Arevalo, John Paul Golfo, Julian Dayrit, Lhuillier nad San Buenaventura.

Close to 300 entries are seeing action in the Group 2 tournament, sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop in its continuing effort to help develop the sport and help discover fresh talents who could be tapped and trained to become members of future national pool.

“We have been inspired by the tremendous response of our young players through all our legs, in the provinces and in Manila,” said Palawan Pawnshop COO Bobby Castro. “This series of tournaments also gives our junior players the exposure they need to earn ranking points.”

Meanwhile, Manila Polo Club will the next leg on March 26-31, another Group 2 event. Registration is ongoing with deadline set on March 20. For details, call Bobby Mangunay, PPS-PEPP Sports Program Development director, at 0915-4046464.