MANILA, Philippines — Trisha Gutierrez, Charles Torres and Prince Lim nailed two singles victories each as the Pangasinan bets dominated the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala Agoo age group tennis tournament at the DMMMSU outdoor tennis courts in La Union recently.
The unranked Gutierrez stunned top seed Marielle Jarata, 6-0, 6-3, in the semis then ripped Andrea Sarmiento, 6-1, 6-1, to clinch girls’ 14-and-under crown. The rising Alaminos star then upended No. 4 Gabrielle Abarquez, 6-4, 7-6(3) in the 16-U finals of the Group 2 tournament sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop headed by president/CEO Bobby Castro and presented by Dunlop, the official ball.
Torres and Lim matched that two-title feat with the former surprising top seed Exequiel Jucutan, 4-6, 6-1, 11-9, in the Final Four then routing No. 2 Marc Jarata, 6-2, 6-0, to claim the boys’ 16-U diadem. The Calasiao find then thwarted Joshua Molina, 6-3, 6-4, for the 18-U plum.
Lim, on the other hand, took the 10-unisex crown with a 4-2, 4-2 victory over sibling Roque Lim, 4-2, 4-2, then the young Urdaneta bet foiled Tomas Gabuat, 6-1, 7-5, in the boys’ 12-U finals of the weeklong event sanctioned by the Unified Tennis Philippines, made up of PPS-PEPP, Cebuana Lhuillier, Wilson, Toby’s, Dunlop, Slazenger and B-Meg.
Local ace Jarata atoned for his failed bid in 16-U play by ruling the 14-U class, beating top seed Jucutan, 6-1, 6-1, while sister Marielle Jarata claimed the girls’ 12-U diadem with a 6-0, 6-1 romp over Janelle Asprec.
Abarquez, also from Alaminos, likewise made up for her defeat in the 16-U finals by pocketing the 18-U title via a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Jane Calonge.
Gutierrez and Prince Lim actually completed a three-title romp as the former teamed up with Nixie Ramos to edge Nikki de Venecia and Sarmiento, 8-6, to bag the doubles 14-U doubles crown. The Lims trounced Chas Tambot and Winner Borgonia, 8-4, in the 10-U doubles finals.