Quitara banners PPS Orchard cast

MANILA, Philippines - Laurenz Quitara hopes to bring his winning act to the Orchard leg of the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala age group tennis tournament, which gets going today at the Orchard Golf and Country Club tennis courts in Dasmariñas, Cavite.

Quitara racked up three victories in last week’s PPS-PEPP stop in Sta. Rosa, winning the boys 16- and 18-and-under crowns. The Imus, Cavite find also teamed up with Tim Gumban to nail the 18-U doubles title.

But Quitara faces a different set of rivals this week with EJ Geluz and Gabriel Tiamson tipped to crowd him in the 18-U side and Marcus del Rosario, Stefano Gurria, and Martin Buenaventura expected to foil his bid in the 16-U section of the Group 2 tournament sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop headed by president/CEO Bobby Castro.

Denise Bernardo, on the other hand, looms as the player to beat in the girls’ 16- and 18-U divisions that also drew the likes of Gabby Sandejas, Bea Acena and Nina Sandejas.

Elise Geluz and Melody Dizon headline the girls’ 14-U field with Diego Dayrit, JT Bernardo, Nicos Ison and Keno Enriquez gaining the top four spots in the boys’ category of the same age division of the country’s premier age-grouper presented by Slazenger.

Siblings Samuel and Sherwin Nuguit, Tristan Japay and JT Bernardo are the players to beat in the boys’ class and Dizon and Alecs Ilano in the girls’ category of the 12-U division of the tournament backed by Asiatraders Corp. and the new Unified tennis group, led by PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s and B-Meg.

Keen competition is also seen in the 10-unisex group led by Kean Enriquez, siblings Frank and France Dilao and Tim Tayer.

 For details, call PPS-PEPP sports program development director Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.