Tacloban’s young stars show stuff in PPS-PEPP regional netfest

MANILA, Philippines – Young players from Tacloban take center stage beginning today as the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional tennis circuit presented by Slazenger holds its third leg at Tacloban City Tennis Club in Leyte.

Ma. Delrose Duran from McArthur and Mae Ellen Salamida from Tacloban City banner the field in the girls’ 18-and-under class that also includes Darlene Malooy, Pauline Barond, Givenchi Bulic, Trixic Sumapig, Juliene De Guzman and Angelica Bicaldo with Duran, Salamida, Sumapig, Bicaldo and De Guzman also vying in the 16-U section of the Group 3 tournament sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop.

But Baybay’s Anica Cari is tipped to be the player to beat in the 16-U class with Nicole Perida and Corazon Lambonao also joining the title hunt in the four-day tournament that also features the girls’ 12- and 14-U categories, the boys’ 18-, 16-, 14-, 12-U and the 10-unisex divisions of the event backed by Asiatraders Corp., exclusively distributor of Slazenger, the official ball of the circuit.

Jules Cari and Paolo Loreto, both from Baybay, headline the boys’ premier division with Jomarey Dacuyan and Chyme Arradaza out to foil their bid while Joshua Torres and Arradaza, Dacuyan and Niko Vidallon gain the top four seedings in the 16-U class of the tournament sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association headed by president and Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez.

“We take pride in putting up a ranking tournament in Tacloban, much more help in identifying talents from this city where tennis is popular,” said Palawan Pawnshop president and CEO Bobby Castro.

Meanwhile, shifts to Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu next week for a Group 2 tournament at the Mactan Tennis Courts. Listup is ongoing, according to tournament organizer and supervisor Bobby Mangunay, also the PPS-PEPP sports program development director. For details, call 0915-4046464 or log on to www.palawanpawnshoptennis.com <http://www.palawanpawnshoptennis.com/> .