Chelsea Bernaldez claimed the girls’ 18-and-under trophy for the second consecutive week and added the 16-and-U crown to her collection, making her the sole “double” winner in the PPS-PEPP City of Mati national junior tennis championships held at the Sainz and Clergy courts in Davao Oriental last weekend.
Just like in her tough three-set victory over AJ Acabo in the Maragusan leg in Davao de Oro, Bernaldez survived another cliffhanger by overcoming top seed Sanschena Francisco, 2-6, 6-2, 10-7, in the finals of the flagship age group division in the Group 2 tournament presented by Dunlop.
The Tagum City prodigy had previously defeated Faith Lazaro, 6-2, 6-2, to secure the 16-and-U title and earn MVP honors in the week-long event, which served as the second leg of a three-leg PPS-PEPP swing in the Davao region.
Tagum City will host the last stop on September 7-11 in Davao del Norte. For details and registration, please contact event organizer Bobby Mangunay at 09154046464.
Young Kresthan Belacas from M’lang, North Cotabato, also grabbed a share of the spotlight as he secured a victory and a runner-up finish, emerging as the top performer in the boys’ division of the country’s longest talent-search tournament organized by Palawan Pawnshop under President/CEO Bobby Castro.
Belacas dominated Jaycee Compa, 4-0, 4-0, in the 10-unisex finals but fell short of claiming both titles as top seed Matt Docena thwarted his bid, defeating him, 7-6(5), 6-1, in the 12-and-under championship.
Other champions included Lazaro from Tagum, Princess Placa from Digos City, local contender Duane Batad, and Maragusan’s Bench Neri and Vancidrik Rosalinda.
Lazaro thwarted Placa, 6-2, 7-6(3), for the girls’ 14-and-U crown; Placa clinched the 12-and-U title with a convincing 6-1, 6-1 victory over Justine Gumbao; Batad stunned top seed Randy Pausanos, 6-3, 6-2, in the semifinals and then defeated No. 2 Kristofer Espinoza, 7-5, 6-4, to complete his surprising title run in the boys’ 18-and-under category; and the top-seeded Neri dominated Anton Yee, 6-0, 6-2, for the boys’ 16-and-U trophy.
Rosalinda also secured back-to-back victories in the boys’ 14-and-U category as he overcame Dexter Salcedo, 4-6, 6-1, 10-3.
The doubles champions were Compa and Francis Dimzon (10-U), Gian Luna and Fritz Plete (boys’ 14-and-U), Batad and Roland Lingaon (boys’ 18-and-U), Camille Clar and Placa, who swept the girls’ 14- and 18-and-U titles.
