Lim lone Philippines bet in D Cup tie; 3 pull out

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine team will be without its three key players when it plays Thailand in their Davis Cup tie starting this Friday even as AJ Lim yesterday called on all major tennis stakeholders to unite and save the sport.

Citing injuries, Fil-Ams Treat Huey and Ruben Gonzales and Niño Alcantara begged off from joining the Bangkok trip, leaving Lim as the only player of the national team that beat Indonesia, 4-1, early this year.

“Politics should be left to the politicians,” said Lim, who powered UE to its breakthrough UAAP championship recently. “The sport is in bad shape now, and if they continue to quarrel nothing will happen to us.”

Returning to the Phl team are former No. 1 PJ Tierro and Jeson Alcantara.

Meanwhile, the PCA Open, one of the biggest annual tournaments in the country, also pulled out of the Philta calendar as the association’s leadership issue remains unresolved.

Following the postponement of last week’s scheduled voting, the PCA Open took the cue from fellow stakeholders which had already dissociated themselves from Philta.

It followed the lead of Palawan Pawnshop, Cebuana Lhuillier, Toby’s Sports, Babolat, Dunlop, TRU-FLEX National Age-Group, Henry Sr. Memorial Age Group, and B-MEG, which had earlier withdrawn their support to Philta.

The unified group will also form six junior national teams for both boys and girls, Under-18, Under-16 and Under-14.