Over 200 entries in eight age categories slug it out for top honors and ranking points in the PPS-PEPP Fernando Arguelles III National age-group tennis tournament, which gets under way Thursday at the Negros Occidental Tennis Association courts in Bacolod City.
Faith Banico and Jufe-Ann Cocoy banner the girls’ 18-and-under class that also includes Alexa Milliam, who topped the kickoff leg of the circuit presented by Dunlop in Iloilo last week, along with Althea Martinez, Therese Gauran and Hannah Divinagracia.
Iloilo’s Nikhel Nowlakha also shoots for a second straight win but braces for a tough challenge in a souped-up 18-U field that also features Khenz Justiani, Andre Rodriguez, Alekzander Po, Elemar Sealza and Herman Illusurio.
Banico and Gauran also loom as the players to beat in the 16-U play that also drew Eunice Rodriguez and Mary Peñalosa with Gauran gaining the top seeding in the 14-U division that includes Louchelaj Estember, Queen Villa and Hannah Co, who also earned the top ranking in the 12-U play of the Group I tournament put up by Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala president and CEO Bobby Castro and backed by the Unified Tennis Philippines and UTR (Universal Tennis Rating).
Herman Illusorio, Kirby Ramacho, Jay Lorico and Cloyd Canoy gear up for a fierce duel in the boys’ 16-U class, while Lorico and Canoy, along with Juvels Velos and Bjorn Castigador are the marked bets in the 14-U side, which held a qualifying to accommodate the big number of players seeking spot into the main draw.
All but two of the eight categories feature 32-player draws, underscoring the tremendous response of the young bidders in Bacolod, Aklan, Roxas, Iloilo, Tayasan, Dumaguete, Valencia, San Carlos, La Carlota, Cadiz and Sagay to the resumption of the junior circuit following the long hiatus due to pandemic.
