Velicaria, Prulla stun top rivals in Pres Cup

MANILA, Philippines - Unranked Moira Velicaria flashed top form to upend second seed Johanna Capinpin, 6-1, 6-4, while sixth-ranked Chris Prulla wore down No. 3 Emmanuel Fuellas, 6-4, 4-6, 10-8, to advance to the semifinal round of their respective divisions in the President’s Cup age-group tennis tournament at the Olivarez Sports Center in Sucat last Sunday.

Velicaria pounced on Capinpin’s shaky start then held on in the next set to complete a straight-set victory and arrange a Final Four showdown with No. 4 Gwyneth Bejer in the girls’ 18-and-under class of the event held in honor of Philta president and Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez.

Prulla, on the other hand, outdueled Fuellas in a thrilling decider to reach the semis of the boys’ 16-and-U division against the winner of the Matthew Gironella-Thomas Puno quarterfinal duel. Second seed Jerome Romualdez survived Angelo Cerezo, 6-4, 6-4, to clinch the other semis berth in the lower bracket.

Jeremy Gregorio scored a walkover win over top seed Eric Jed Olivarez to lead the Last 8 cast in the boys’ premier 18-and-U category, which includes No. 2 Joshua Cano, Nicolas Cano, Marcen Gonzales, Luke Flores, Claudio Canlas and Romualdez.

Second seed Al Burahan routed Vishal Baghia, 6-2, 6-0, to advance to the quarters of the boys’ 14-and-U along with Red Ante, Tim Gumban, Juan Jugo, Jose San Buenaventura, Stephan Lhuillier and Paolo Martin.

Top seed Diego Dayrit and No. 2 Gumban, meanwhile, stayed on collision course for the 12-and-U crown as they toppled their respective rivals to advance to the semis of the event serving as part of the year-round, nationwide Palawan Pawnshop Express Padala age-group tournament presented by Babolat.

Also making it to the 12-U semis was Aljon Talatayod, who dominated Sherwin Villacortez, 6-0, 6-1.