PPS circuit kicks off 3-leg Lanao swing
A new mix of future stars take center stage in the next three weeks in the Lanao del Norte, each aiming for honors and ranking points in the Palawan Pawnshop Palawan Express Pera Padala age group tennis circuit which got underway yesterday in Tubod.
Rovie Baulete and Steven Sonsona lead the chase in the premier girls’ and boys’ 18-and-under divisions, respectively, with Faye Lim and Lex Estillore bannering the 16-U cast and Kristine Bandolis and Nash Agustines gaining the top seeding in their respective sides in the 14-U play of the Group 2 tournament presented by Dunlop.
Close to 200 entries are vying for titles in nine age-group divisions in singles play while five more are up for grabs in the doubles category of the week-long event hosted by Stanley Noval at the Tubod-Laneco-Baroy tennis courts.
Ma. Judy Anne Padilla, meanwhile, looms as the player to beat in the girls’ 12-U side with Aslan Carbonilla facing a tough set of rivals in the full-packed 32-player draw while Garlandson Ardiente, Janus Rosales, Wyn Sanchez, and Pete Bandala are tipped to dispute the 10-unisex crown in the tournament serving as the first of three legs making up the Lanao del Norte swing of the circuit put up by Palawan Pawnshop headed by president/CEO Bobby Castro.
Kapatagan will host the next stop on Sept. 19-24 with the third leg set in Maranding from Sept. 28-Oct. 1. List up is ongoing. For details, call PPS-PEPP Program Development director Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.
The year-round, nationwide circuit, sanctioned by the Unified Tennis Philippines, made up of PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s, Dunlop, Slazenger, and B-Meg, is coming off a successful three-leg tour in Zamboanga del Norte where Salug native Sydney Ezra Enriquez racked up six singles titles in the 16- and 18-U divisions in Liloy, Salug and Sindangan legs.
Meanwhile, others tipped to crowd Baulete in the 18-U division are Carmabelle Gervacio, Janmarie Anghag and Faith Virgo with Jose Maria Pague, Nilo Ledama and Estillore out to foil Sonsona in the boys’ section.
