Bayking, Del Rosario share top honors

MANILA, Philippines – Bliss Bayking racked up a two-title romp for the third straight week while Marcus del Rosario posted a win and a runner-up finish in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional age-group tennis tournament at the Maasin City and Capitol Tennis Club in Maasin, Leyte over the weekend.

Bayking overpowered Alexa Milliam, 6-1, 6-1, to annex the girls’ 14-and-under crown then mastered top seed Tracy Llamas, 6-0, 6-0, for the 16-U title as the San Carlos City ace duplicated her feats in the Dumaguete and Bohol legs of the annual, nationwide circuit sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and presented by Slazenger.

Bayking earlier survived Zethley Alferez in their thrilling semis duel in the 16-U class, leaning on her strong forehand and superb baseline game to eke out a 7-6(4), 3-6, 10-7 decision.

The second seeded Del Rosario, on the other hand, upended No. 1 Francis Hidalgo, 6-2, 7-5, to snare the boys’ 16-U plum but the rising NCR star failed to match Bayking’s feat when he dropped a 6-0, 7-6(7) decision to Norman Enriquez in centerpiece 18-U finals of the Group 2 tournament backed by Asiatraders Corp., exclusive distributor of Slazenger, and sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association headed by president and Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez.