JEDDAH, 27 June 2003 — With flashes of brilliance and courage, Diego Silang and Manuel L. Quezon subdued their opponents overwhelmingly to capture the lead in their respective groups in the Pinoy Cup 2003 Team Tennis Challenge which kicked off at Al Yamama Hotel Tennis Courts over the weekend.
A total of 128 players joined the Pinoy Cup 2003 which is the second and biggest tournament so far of Pinoy Netters Club 102. Matches are being played every Friday morning and Sunday and Tuesday evenings.
In last Sunday’s match for B1/B2 Division, MLQ’s duo of Ricky Tamayosa and Fred Ringor brushed aside the stiff challenge of Emilio Aguinaldo’s Boy Gopez and Joey Cuenco, 8-3. An hour later, in B3 & B4, the tandem of Nony Adrineda & Neil Solomon prevailed over Aguinaldo’s Larry Berroya and Odi Dalida in the tiebreaker after squandering a 3-point lead, 7-4, after 11 games.
In Group 1, Diego Silang had a good run with emphatic victories over their rivals in three divisions, with one match still unplayed. Last Tuesday, the duo of Arley Reyes and Ronnie Bigtas in B3/B4 trounced the pair of Cesar Arcenas and Gerry De Guzman, 8-4, while Willy Nicholas & Fred Octubre got past the twosome of Tisoy De Leon and Frank Villahermosa, 8-6. In Court 3, the duo of Nabil Mojica and Gil Necesito proved too strong for the tandem of Ver Rubio & Ed Tesigan, winning the match after almost an hour of rallies, 8-4.
Following Diego Silang in the pack was Jose Rizal with 3 points (25 games) while Gregorio del Pilar and Raja Sulayman garnered an identical 2 points and 19 games to share 3rd place.
Last Sunday also on Court 3, MLQ’s C1 and C2 tennisters (Elmer Tolentino and Gem Beringuel) were tested by Aguinaldo’s Bert Angeles and Gilbert Mesias. After getting the upper hand after 10 games, 6-4, MLQ saw their lead being erased when Mesias held serve in the 11th game and Tolentino was broken in the next.
At 6 games all, MLQ got the significant break when at 30-40, with Angeles serving, Mesias failed to return Beringuel’s down-the-line forehand. Serving for the match at 14th game, Tolentino put his serves in, forcing Angeles & Mesias to hit balls beyond the baseline. Aguinaldo got a consolation when Raffy Uy and Nemen Cabatuando (C3 & C4) overwhelmed the duo of MLQ’s Neil Solomon and Norman Cautivar, 8-1.
