Patrimonio, Arcilla bag PPS-PEPP titles

MANILA, Philippines - Clarice Patrimonio stopped Khim Iglupas for the second straight time and took the women’s crown while Johnny Arcilla mastered PJ Tierro to pocket the men’s diadem in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala Pintaflores Festival Open at the Sacata Tennis Club in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental over the weekend.

Patrimonio broke Iglupas twice in the first three games then countered her rival’s three-game fightback that tied it at 3 by winning three of the next four games then fought back from one-game down in the second frame to hack out a 6-4, 6-3 triumph and pocket the top P20,000 purse.

In contrast, it was an all Arcilla show in the men’s finals with the veteran campaigner outplaying his many-time Davis Cup teammate all throughout en route to a 6-2, 6-3 victory that moved him a win from sweeping the Open crowns on the PPS-PEPP calendar for the second straight year.

Arcilla, who banked another P30,000, dominated the Olivarez Cup last Aug., ruled the Tuna Festival Open in Gen. Santos City last September then topped the Dinagyang Festival in Iloilo last month. The last PPS-PEPP Open tilt is the Dagitab Festival in Naga City, Cebu on Dec. 18-22.

“It has been a great two weeks of top-notch tennis and we hope we were able to provide local fans the kind of games they expected from our bumper crop of young players and the elite,” said Palawan Pawnshop CEO and president Bobby Castro, who also lauded the all-out support of the host city led by San Carlos City Mayor Gerardo Valmayor Jr., Vice Mayor Rene Gustillo, Councilor Criston Carmona and the LGUs of San Carlos along with former Rep. Julius Ledesma IV and Vice Gov. Bong Lacson.

Arcilla capped another successful campaign by teaming up with Iglupas to snare the mixed doubles crown in the event sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and presented by Slazenger, repulsing the Tierro-Patrimonio tandem, 6-4, 4-6, 10-7.

Patrimonio, who eased out Shaira Rivera, 6-0, 6-1, in the semis, and Iglupas, who clobbered Hanna Espinosa, 6-2, 6-1, in the Final Four, actually traded breaks coming off a 3-3 count in the first set. But Patrimonio broke again in the ninth then dropped just one point to hold serve in the next and move one set up.

Iglupas pressed her bid by going 2-1 in the second set on a hold-break-hold game, but Patrimonio regained her bearing in the fourth game then shut out Iglupas to break in the fifth and wrest the lead.

She sustained her form and took the next two, yielded the eighth on a break but broke back in the ninth to clinch the set and the match of the event sanctioned by Philta and backed by Asiatraders Corp., exclusive distributor of Slazenger, the official ball, and held as part of the host city’s Pintaflores Festival.