The Philippine tennis team moved to a step closer of giving the country another gold in the 2017 Southeast Asian Games as Clarice Patrimonio and the tamdem of Francis Alcantara and Ruben Gonzeles reached the last four of two events as of the end of Wednesday morning sessions in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Reigning UAAP MVP Clarice Patrimonio came from a close first set and second-set loss to eventually finish off Indonesia’s Gumulya, 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, to reach the semifinals of the women’s singles.
Fil-German Katharina Lehnert, however,lost her quarterfinals match against Thailand’s Luksila Kumkhum in straight sets.
Francis Casey Alcantara, partnering with Ruben Gonzales this time, advanced to the semifinals of men’s doubles event, after asserting mastery on Indonesians Trijiati and Sasongko. The Filipinos took the match in two frames, 7-5, 6-3.
It was sort of redemption for Alcantara after he bid farewell in the men’s singles draw. Jeson Patrombon also suffered the same fate. The two Filipinos absorbed defeats from Thai opponents in the quarterfinals.
