Young Angel Denopol dished out top form to match Eric Tangub’s two-title romp as they shared the MVP honors in the PPS-PEPP Tangub National age grouper at the Tangub tennis courts in Misamis Occidental last Monday.
The 12-year-old Denopol crushed Eri Dominguez, 6-1, 6-0, to rule her age bracket then the rising star from Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte held off Zeiah Toribio in the semis, 6-2, 3-6, 10-7, before blasting Jamie Insong, 6-3, 6-2, to claim the girls’ 14-U singles title in the Group 2 tournament presented by Dunlop and sponsored by Mayor Philip Tan.
Tangub, from Tucuran, Zambo del Sur, recovered from a pair of setbacks in PPS-Ozamiz last week by dominating the top divisions in the full-packed boys’ side, whipping Benne Villanueva, 6-1, 6-1, in the 16-U finals then routing Lex Estillore, 6-1, 6-4, for the 18-U diadem.
Fancied Sydney Enriquez sustained her two-title romp in Ozamiz by winning the 16- and 18-U crowns via a pair of 6-0, 6-0 routs over Carmel Padilla and Gerly Insong but the Salug, Zambo del Sur star had to yield the spotlight to Denopol, who also made it to the finals of the 14-U doubles.
“It’s inspiring to see more and more new faces emerging and the PPS-PEPP circuit will continue to provide these youngsters, particularly those from the countryside, the venue not only to showcase their wares but also earn ranking points,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.
Other winners in the four-day event, sanctioned by the Unified Tennis Philippines made up of PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s, Dunlop, Slazenger and B-Meg, were Dipolog’s Rafael Bandala (10-unisex), local bet Kyne Solis (boys’ 12-U) and Molave’s RJ Cagatan (boys’ 14-U).
Bandala thumped Axi Estillore, 4-0, 4-1; Solis upended top seed Sean Esick, 6-1, 6-0, in the semis then ripped Rowin Cuasito, 6-0, 6-0; and Cagatan turned back No. 1 Zarc Denopol via a thrilling 6-4, 2-6, 10-5 decision.
