Johnny Arcilla, Jeson Patrombon stay on Brookside Hills Open collision course

MANILA, Philippines — Johnny Arcilla and Jeson Patrombon toppled their respective rivals in straight-set fashion to roll into the semifinal round and stay on track for a title face-off in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala Brookside Hills Open Tennis Championships at the Brookside Hills Tennis Club in Cainta, Rizal yesterday.

The top-seeded Arcilla, 38, kept his run of lopsided results with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Rodolfo Barquin to arrange a Final Four showdown with third-ranked Vicente Anasta, who held off Dheo Talatayod, 6-3, 6-4, in their quarters duel.

Arcilla earlier disposed of Renest Sonsona, 6-2, 6-2, then eased past Chat Conta, 6-1, 6-0, while Anasta downed Norman Gaspar, 6-1, 6-4, then thwarted Joseph Arcilla, 6-2, 7-6(4).

No. 2 Patrombon, on the other hand, clobbered Anthony Alcoseba, 6-0, 6-1, to advance in the lower half of the elite 32-player draw in the weeklong event put up by Palawan Pawnshop and backed by Asiatraders Corp., distributor of Slazenger/Dunlop as official ball.

The 25-year-old Patrombon earlier scored a walkover win over John Sanga but needed an extra set to frustrate Dave Mosqueda, 6-2, 3-6, 10-4.

“The semis cast couldn’t get any better, guaranteeing another thriller of a title showdown among the best of the lot, which should further inspire our young players, especially those competing in the PPS-PEPP age-group,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.

The last semis slot were being disputed by No.4 Fritz Verdad and fifth seed Noel Damian at presstime.