Padilla, Gabuat shine with twin titles

MANILA, Philippines — Ma. Judyann Padilla of Ozamiz City and Thomas Gabuat of Sibugay fashioned out a pair of straight-set victories each to dominate the PPS-PEPP national age-group tennis tournament at the RGS courts in Zamboanga del Norte last Thursday.

Padilla scraped past AJ Acabo twice, 6-3, 6-4, and 6-3, 6-3, in the 18- and 16-and-under finals while Gabuat cruised to shutout wins over Axel Apat and Mark Barrios for his own two-title feat in the boys’ side of this Group 2 tourney held under the auspices of the Unified Tennis Philippines and Universal Tennis Rating.

Other winners in the four-day tournament, which served as part of the nationwide circuit put up by Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala president and CEO Bobby Castro, were Sindangan’s Marlyn Mesiona (14-girls), Lanao del Norte’s Josh Lim (14-boys), Alexis Acido from Polanco (12-), local bet Pete Bandala (12-)and Sherwin Gom-os from Liloy (10-u unisex).

The top-seeded Mesiona clobbered Ellen Ramos, 6-1, 6-0, while the unranked Lim upended No. 1 Bandala, 6-2, 6-0, to clinch the 14-U crowns; Alexis Acido wore down Gabrielle Bulado, 7-5, 7-5, while Bandala routed Rashdi Macaundas, 6-1, 6-1, to share top honors in 12-U play; and No. 2 Gom-os repulsed Vanizer Acabo, 4-2, 4-1, for the 10-unisex plum in the event presented by Dunlop.

Meanwhile, action heats up in the country’s longest running age-grouper, the spawning ground of talents that could be tapped and developed into future members of the national pool, with the next leg firing off this weekend at the Sindangan courts, also in Zamboanga del Norte.

For details and registration, contact event organizer Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.

Next up is the Labason leg on April 25 to 27 to be followed by the Liloy stop on April 28 to 30. The circuit moves to Lanao del Norte in Maranding on May 1 to 3 then to Oroquieta City on May 4 to 6.