By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — As expected, Francis Casey Alcantara and Ruben Gonzales delivered for tennis as the duo bagged the men’s doubles gold Saturday, May 13, in the 32nd Southeast Asian Games at the Morodok Techo National Stadium here.
Alcantara and Gonzales bucked an opening set defeat on the way to beating Indonesians Christopher Rungkat and Nathan Barki, 2-6, 7-5, 10-5, for the PH team’s third straight gold in the event.
In the 2019 Manila edition, Alcantara and Jeson Patrombon claimed the gold while Gonzales teamed up with Treat Huey to bag the gold in the 2021 Hanoi meet.
After earning an opening-round bye, Alcantara and Gonzales went on full throttle to beat Indonesians David and Ignatius Susanto, 6-3, 7-5, before surviving Vietnam’s Dac Tien and Van Phuong Nguyen, 7-6, 6-3.
Meanwhile, Eric Olivarez and Miko Eala failed to get past the quarters after losing to Rungkat and Barki, 5-7, 6-2, 10-5, the other day.
Khim Iglupas and Shaira Rivera also lost their quarters match to Indonesian Aldila Sutjiadi and Jessy Rompies, 6-0, 6-1.
Marian Capadocia, Iglupas, Eala and Eric Olivarez Jr. also lost their singles matches early in the tournament.
