Kidlat Estogero racked up two victories while Miles Vitaliano posted a win and a runner-up finish as they shared top honors in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala Cainta leg regional age-group tournament at the Brookside Hills and Village East Tennis Club in Cainta last Wednesday.
The top-seeded Estogero, from Imus, Cavite, thwarted Kean Enriquez’s fightback to score a 4-0, 5-3 win in the 10-unisex finals then the duo teamed up to clobber siblings Nhielle and Vhielle Dilao, 8-0, and annex the doubles diadem in the Group 2 tournament sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and presented by Slazenger.
The unranked Vitaliano, on the other hand, pulled off a 7-6(5), 6-4 victory over Danielle Carranza in the semis and then overpowered Francesca Cruz, 6-1, 6-2, to snare the girls’ 18-and-under crown in the event backed by Asiatraders Corp. and the new Unified tennis group, led by PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson Toby’s and B-Meg.
The Quezon City bet, however, fell short of her bid for a twinkill, dropping a 7-5, 4-6, 10-8 decision to No. 1 Mikaela Vicencio in the 16-U finals.
Other winners were Julia Ignacio, Mica Emana, Harvey Gilbuena, Elvin Geluz, Daniel Estanislao III and Luis Salvacion.
“With no player scoring two wins in singles, the age-group circuit became more interesting,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.
Ignacio repulsed Emana, 3-6, 6-4, 10-8, and captured the girls’ 14-U title; Emana scored a 2-1(ret.) win over sister Kaye for the 12-U diadem; Gilbuena took the boys’ 18-U plum with a 1-0(ret.) win over Bruce Hurtado; Geluz also nailed a 1-0(ret.) victory over Miguel Vicencio for the 16-U plum; Estanislao frustrated Miguel Vicencio, 6-2, 3-6, 10-3, for the 14-U crown; while Salvacion also hacked out a stirring 1-6, 7-6(1), 10-3 victory ver Von Zaraza for the 12-U title.