Age-grouper kicks off 5th Olivarez Open

MANILA, Philippines - The fifth Olivarez Open kicks off an action packed two-week tennis competitions today with the country’s leading players and rising stars in the junior ranks taking center stage at the Olivarez Sports Complex in Sucat, Parañaque City.

Top seed Marcen Gonzales faces off Harold Katindig while No. 3 Dave Mosqueda collides with Lenard Cheng in two of the featured matches in the 32-player draw in the boys’ 18-and-under class of the tournament presented by Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Padala and sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association with Technifibre as the official ball.

No. 4 Chris Prulla squares off with Bryan Reyes, No. 6 Jose Nicolas Cano tangles with Lorenzo Luna and No. 8 Marcus del Rosario clashes with Joseph Saraza in the other key matches in the premier boys’ section of the event, a four-in-one tournament that also features the interclub, the inter-college and the centerpiece Open division among members of the national team and pool plus a slew of junior aces.

“We expect some surprises right in the first day of action with a number of upcoming players raring to showcase their wares against the fancied bets,” said Palawan Pawnshop COO Bobby Castro. “We hope to discover and produce more players who could be trained and developed into becoming members of the national pool.”

Also on tap are matches in the boys’ 16-and-U, which drew a full-packed 64-player roster headed by top seed Bryan Decasa, No. 2 Cenon Gonzales Jr., third seed Prulla and No. 4 Emmanuel Fuellas. Decasa, meanwhile, begins his campaign in the 18-and-U class tomorrow where he is the No. 2 seed.

“Through the years, it has been the commitment of the Olivarez family, through Dr. Pablo Olivarez, to develop our players by providing top-notch tournaments like this,” said Philta president and Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez. “This tournament will surely inspire our young players to achieve a higher level of play. And we thank Palawan Pawnshop for thesupport and promote Philippine tennis nationwide.”

Meanwhile, the Open, led by Johnny Arcilla and TJ Tierro, will be held Aug. 23-31 with the Qualifier set Aug. 20-22. For details, contact tournament-in-charge/director Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.

The Interclub tournament, featuring the country’s leading corporate and government teams, is set Aug. 16-31 while the top UAAP and NCAA teams will lead the cast in the Inter-college championship on Aug. 18-31.

Six matches will also be played in the girls’ 14-and-U section with Mariel So mixing it up with Louella Tan, Bea de Ocampo battling Denise Bernardo, Bea Acena taking on Izzie Poblador, Renee Acena clashing with Danielle Poblador, Mariana Po taking on Cindy Jaylo and young gun Gaby Zoleta colliding with Mia So.

As incentives in the girls’ 14- and 16-U classes, the winners will earn berths in the Philippine team set to vie in the WTA Future Stars meet slated Oct. 17-20 in Singapore.