Althea Martirez and Drixcyn Guillano set out for a twinkill against a slew of rivals ready to foil their bids in the top two divisions of the PPS-PEPP Gov. E. Contreras national age group tennis tournament which got underway at the Villareal Stadium Tennis Courts in Roxas City Friday.
Over 200 entries are slugging it out for top honors and ranking points in the Group I tournament serving as part of the talent-search of the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala circuit with Martirez and Guillano bracing for a tough challenge in the 16- and 18-and-under categories.
The top-seeded Martirez, one of the rising stars from Central Philippine U in Iloilo who dominated the recent Gov. Umali Cup in Oriental Mindoro, will be facing the likes of No. 2 Avril Suace, third seed Crystal Ojaldon and Maria Aguirre in pursuit of the two titles in the event sponsored by Gov. Esteban Contreras and PPS-PEPP headed by Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.
Guillano, meanwhile, also hopes to bank on crowd support as the local ace goes up against the likes of Nickel Nowlakha, Angelo Mejia, JJ Gazo and Kendrick Bona in the boys’ side of the event sanctioned by the Unified Tennis Philippines made up of PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s, Dunlop, Slazenger and B-Meg.
Also on tap is the Legends 40s, 50s and 60s and men’s doubles competitions, according to PPS-PEPP Sports Program Development director Bobby Mangunay. For details, call 0915-4046464.
Aguirre, meanwhile, leads the chase in the girls’ 14-U play along with Aleeva Suace, Dolores Hofilena and Sophia Gazo with Benedict Santiago, Elemar Sealza, Derrick Guillano and Bona tipped to dispute the boys’ crown.
Suace and Hofilena also brace for a showdown in the girls’ 12-U championship with Queenly Villa and Angelie Mondragon out to spoil their bid while Derrick Guillano and Bona loom as the players to beat in the full-packed boys’ 12-U category. The 10-unisex group also drew a 32-player draw, headed by Francis de Juan, Villa, Brice Baisa and Francisco de Juan III.
