Jaca, Oliverio stamp classes

CEBU, Philippines — Cebuano table paddlers Val Stephen Jaca and Diana Oliverio dominated the premiere open division of the 27th Erne Jawad Memorial Cup over the weekend at the Robinsons Galleria-Cebu.

Jaca, a former varsity of the University of Cebu who is now with Hua Ching Foundation, finally snatched the men’s open title that slipped out of his hands last year after trouncing John Russel Misal of the Table Tennis Association for National Development (TATAND) in straight sets, 11-7, 11-5, 11-8.

Jaca though missed a golden double, with Misal and the rest of TATAND bets winning the men’s team competition via a close 2-1 decision.

It was the same story for Oliverio in the women’s open.

Oliverio snared the singles crown she missed in 2017 after overpowering TATAND’s Keith Rynne Cruz, 11-9, 6-11, 11-4, 11-7 in their championship match.

Cruz, however, avenged her loss to Oliverio by leading TATAND to a 2-0 victory in the team event.

Aside from Oliverio, UC also got several honors, with Andrei Caballes ruling the boys 13 and Eljay Tormis ending up with a silver in the boys 18. Two other UC bets in Henze Dominique Lucero and Aira Macabinguil both won bronze also in the 18-under class. (FREEMAN)