Fourth-ranked Joshua Kinaadman kept his nerves in check as he sustained a superb baseline game to bundle out top seed Johnny Arcilla, 6-4, 6-4, and barge into the final of the Gov. Edwin Jubahib Cup National Tennis Championships Sunday at the DavNor Tourism and Sports Complex in Davao del Norte.
No. 3 Eric Olivarez also advanced but in tougher fashion later in the day, needing to rebound from a crushing second set defeat to upend second seed Vicente Anasta, 6-2, 1-6, 10-3, in their side of the semis duel.
They dispute the crown and the top purse of P40,000 at 8 a.m. Monday.
Kinaadman earlier ousted Bruce Hurtado, 4-1, 4-0, then bested Christian Lopez, 7-6(8), 6-0 before trouncing Fritz Verdad, 6-2, 6-0, to arrange a semis clash with Arcilla, while Olivarez eased out Carlos Santiago, 4-0, 5-3, toppled Jelic Amazona, 6-4, 6-2, then turned back Ronard Joven, 3-6, 6-0, 10-7, to set up Final Four duel with Anasta.
In the semis, Kinaadman pulled through in a pressure-packed tiebreaker to break Arcilla in the 10th game of the opening set then matched that feat in the next, capping the big reversal with another break via shutout to earn a crack at the crown in the event put up by Gov. Jubahib as part of his commitment to boost the province’s sports program.
Arcilla actually asserted his might early with a break in the fifth game but the lefty Kinaadman from Lapu-Lapu City broke back in the next and came out of a held-held-held game with a strong finishing kick in the 10th, overhauling a 0-30 deficit with a sweep of the next four points to snatch the opening set.
He broke Arcilla early in the second set, 2-0, but the latter held serve then broke back in the fourth. But after the Cebuano ace and the veteran campaigner traded serves in the next five games, Kinaadman surprised Arcilla with a string of points in the 10th and took the first finals slot in emphatic fashion.
Olivarez, on the other hand, used a strong start to beat Anasta in the opening set, racking up three straight games from a 3-2 lead but the latter imposed his will in the next frame to win convincingly on a four-game romp from a shaky 2-1 lead.
But Olivarez proved a lot tougher in the tiebreaker, winning the first two points, then after Anasta scored in the ensuing play, the former took the next four which he used as a springboard to pound pout the victory he spiked with another three-point binge from a 7-3 lead.
Kinaadman and Olivarez were also in the hunt for the doubles crown in the event backed by Darbmuco, Dacup Surveying Office, WEARBEMPCO, Velocity One Realty Ventures, Inc., Haven United Dev’t Corp., Panabo Mayor Jose Relampagos, CFARBEMCO, Marsman Drysdale Agri Business Corp., PBA Party List and Joan Este, with the former teaming up with Amasona to beat Verdad and Noel Damian Jr., 6-2, 6-4, to reach the semis against John Altiche and Anasta, who repelled Earl Casal and Renato Casal, 7-6(4), 6-3.
Olivarez and Arcilla, meanwhile, foiled John Accion and Lopez, 7-5, 6-0, for a semis clash with Abson Alejandre and NJ Enriquez, who held of Arc Dolorito and Fritz Domingo, 7-6(5), 6-0.
