MANILA, Philippines — Vicente Anasta and Mark Alcoseba strung up three straight games late in the decider then warded off Jordan Cimafranca and Alberto Villamor’s fightback to hack out a 3-6, 6-3, 10-8 decision and claim the men’s doubles crown in the PPS-PEPP Fr. Fernando Suarez Cup at the Philam Tennis Club in QC over the weekend.
The Anasta-Alcoseba tandem struggled after romping off with a pair of lopsided victories in their title run, escaping with a 7-5, 7-5 victory over Rodolfo Barquin Jr. and Vince Salas in the semis then dropping the first set to the unranked Cimafranca-Villamor pair in the finals of the event presented by Dunlop and held in honor of the healing priest, a tennis buff.
But the top-seeded duo regrouped and took the first three games of the second set and never looked back then shattered a 6-all count in the decider by winning the next three games. Though they dropped the next two, they put their act together and finished off Cimafranca and Villamor, who stopped Bryan Saarenas and John Saga, 6-2, 6-4, in their side of the semis in the tournament kicking off the new season of the Palawan Pawnshop- Palawan Express Pera Padala circuit headed by president/CEO Bobby Castro.
Alcoseba later teamed up with Rollie Anasta and thwarted Teddy Danao and Raymond Diaz, 8-5, to capture the title in the 30-years-old division.