Netters equal three-gold haul in ’91

Cecil Mamiit missed a perfect 3-of-3 showing with a loss in the men’s doubles finals but the RP mixed doubles pair salvaged the gold medal as the Filipino netters matched the country’s three-gold haul in the SEA Games also in Manila 14 years ago.

With Mamiit beaten for the first time, Eric Taino and Riza Zalameda took up the cudgel for RP as they carved out a tough 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over the third seeded Indon pair of Suwandi Suwandi and Wynne Prakusya for the mixed doubles crown, capping RP’s three-gold production in the games.

Indonesia, however, also amassed three gold medals largely on the heroics of Prakusya and won the overall tennis championship.

What Mamiit failed to get in the games Prakusya achieved in the ladies’ side with a sweep of the singles, doubles and the team championships. Prakusya teamed up with Romana Tedjakusuma in toppling compatriots Ayu Fani Damayantin and Septi Mende, 6-2, 6-0, for the women’s doubles championship.

Prakusya was the same lass Maricris Fernandez has beaten for the women’s singles gold medal in the 1999 Brunei Games. It was the last SEAG gold medal the Philippine won until its big splurge this year.

Mamiit missed a third gold medal as his tandem with Taino rammed into the tough top seed pair of twin brothers Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana in the men’s doubles finals.

Gold medal winner in the men’s team competition and the men’s singles, Mamiit settled for the silver this time as they fell easy preys to the Ratiwatanas, 4-6, 2-6.

After a 30-minute rest, Taino, however, returned to win the gold in the mixed doubles in partnership with Zalameda, thus, allowing the Philippines to match its showing 14 years ago in the same playing venue.

"I’m very happy and proud for the great tennis that our players have shown. The gold, silver and bronze medals our players have won are testaments to all their hard work," said RP team manager Jean Henri Lhuillier. "They all had to work their way up the standings through a host of tough athletes from the region."

Taino and Zalameda best typified the resiliency the RP netters shown in the games when they fashioned out a come-from-behind win in their conquest of Suwandi and Prakusya for the mixed doubles gold.

They lost the first set on a sluggish start but battled back in the second set and went on to outlast the Indons for the championship triggering another joyous celebration in the venue.

Taino slammed an ace to cap their win in one hour and 50 minutes.

Taino and Zalameda broke the Indons with Prakusya serving in the fourth game of the second set to seize the momentum of their searing comeback.

In the third and deciding set, the RP pair broke the Indons with Suwandi serving on the fifth game and pressed their bid to complete the amazing victory.

"The whole week was a humbling experience for me and all of us, and it’s a great honor for us to be here," said Taino later on.

"I just believed in myself and my serve, and I can’t forget those moments," Zalameda said. – Bimbo Santos