Five junior players from the Unified Tennis Philippines are currently competing in an ITF (International Tennis Federation) event in Malaysia as part of the new sports group’s commitment to provide the country’s future stars exposure in international play.
Stephen Guia, Marc Suson, Pherl Coderos, Anna De Myer and Denise Bernardo are slugging it out against the region’s top junior players for top honors and ranking points in the 16-and-under division of the ITF Malacca International Junior Championship.
“I am very thankful to UTP for the chance to play in the ITF Malaysia. I’m very excited as this is my first time to compete abroad,” said De Myer.
The five along with 19 others were selected based on UTP’s national ranking system after over 125 UTP-sanctioned tournaments all over the country.
The other players making u the first-ever national junior tennis team, which will represent the country in several top tournaments sanctioned by the ITF and the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) are John David Velez, Brent Cortez, Rainier Selmar, Rupert Tortal, Macie Carlos, Alexa Milliam, Casey Padilla and Alexandra Eala (U14), and Michael Eala, Stephen Guia, Laurenz Quitara and Rovie Baulete (U16).
“Not many people are given the chance to play abroad, so take advantage and seize the moment. This is your chance to excel,” UTP president and president/CEO of Cebuana Lhuillier Jean Henri Lhuillier told the team members.
They include U18 players Manuel Balce III, Marc Suson, Arthur Pantino, Bea Francesca Acena, Elizabeth Abarquez, Melanie Dizon and Aubrey Calma.
Alex Eala actually bagged the top spot in the Les Petit 14-U European Championships in France recently while Michael Eala made it to the quarters in the China Junior in Chengdu.
“We understand the importance of building a competent team to foster a shared national pride among us Filipinos. We believe that our participation in events such as this will fuel the passion and determination of the younger generation to be globally competitive not only in tennis but also in other sports,” said Bobby Castro, president and CEO of Palawan Pawnshop, which supports the U14 boys’ and girls’ teams. Cebuana Lhuillier is in charge of the U16 sides and U18 girls’ squad.
