RIYADH, 7 May 2004 — In a pulsating tennis match, the Hammerhead group of Roland Dela Cruz and Ramon Montales won 43-31 against Vinnell Arabia 1 in the ongoing Association of Filipino Tennis Players Spring Cup 2004 taking place at the Al Yamama Hotel Tennis courts.
The opening game saw Nelgar Barao and Roland Dela Cruz beating hard-hitting Sherwin Manalo and Rolly Biag at 8-6. Nelgar, in the 2nd game, paired with Richard Villanueva and powered to a 8-1 win over Fernan Castillo and Jho Saguban.
Paul Malibiran and Manny Dela Cruz swept away by power hitter Esham Abdulmajid and Fernan at 3-8 in the B3/B4 category.
In A1/A2 Category, topspinner George Talatala and Vic Balahan stormed to an 8-4 win over Pete Petersen and Cris Balint. Larry Barcelona and Paul Malibiran defense in the stretch to snap an 8-7 tiebreaker win against Mario Flores and Cris Balint in the A3/A4 slot. Richard Villanueva and Roland Dela Cruz clawed their way past at 8-5 against Mon de Pio and Jo Saguban in the last game of B1/B2 category.
Meanwhile, D’Assassins managed by Benny Dela Cruz and Orly Patricio overpowered Solid Friends group at 48-20. The first and second doubles pair of Allan Malawanda/Kiko Solima and Marlon Dela Cruz/Nelgar Barao both won by default 8-0 as their opponents failed to show up. Ruel Manalo and Ahbet Bagay beat 8-4 Mario Torrefiel and Dodong Tabotabo in the 3rd game. Then Richard Villanueva and partner had a tough time subduing Roy Repollo and partner at 8-6. Peter Manalo and Edgar Santos dominated the court to tame Ricky Marquez and Elizur Caoile at 8-4 in the 5th doubles. Benny Dela Cruz and partner wrapped up an 8-6 victory over Raj Prasad and Jess Butalid in the last doubles game.
Supporting this league are Metro Star Express, Hastek Marketing, Top Tennis Shop, Dadors Sports Wear of Eduard Dizon, Barrio Fiesta Restaurant through Ver Benosa, and Regal Saloon through Ed, Joseph, Joven, Jay, Marvin, Izaz and Ayman.
