Jeson Patrombon and AJ Lim fought hard, but could not overcome their Vietnamese foes to finish with two bronze medals in the 39th Southeast Asian Games, Thursday at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Centre.
Top-seed Vietnamese Daniel Nguyen stopped the former University of the East ace Lim in two sets, 6-3, 6-4, to claim his place in the finals. Lim actually led 4-1 in the second set, but Nguyen hit his stride in the next few games to prevent an upset, forcing the Filipino to settle for the bronze.
Patrombon also settled for bronze after losing a heart-breaker against Nguyen’s compatriot Ly Hoang Nam in their semis match, 7-5, 1-6, 3-6.
“Actually ako naman ‘yung nagdidikta kanina,” said the veteran Davis Cup campaigner. “‘Yung second set lang kasi parang binigay ko para mag-conserve ako ng energy. Pero nung second set, binuhos ko na talaga pero ‘yung kalaban ko nakuha na niya ‘yung momentum niya.”
The 26-year-old netter would bounce back later in the day to move into the semifinals of the men’s doubles with Francis Alcantara. They fended off Indonesia’s Susanto brothers David and Ignatius Susanto in the first set at 6-4 on the lone break of serve, before following it up with a whitewash in the second at 6-0.
Number-one ranked pair of Ruben Gonzales and Treat Huey also made their way into the last four and assured themselves of a medal. The Filipino powerhouse tandem crushed Shamiurul Shahril and Syed Naguib Syed Mohamad Agil at 6-3, 6-3.
On the other hand, the women’s teams made their exit after Denise Dy and Khim Iglupas lost to Thailand’s Patcharin Cheapchandej and Luksika Kumkhum, 1-6, 0-6.
The semifinals matches in the men’s doubles are scheduled on Friday, December 6.
