Velez, Milliam bag three titles in PPS Buglasan tiff

MANILA, Philippines — John David Velez and Alexa Milliam proved to be a cut above the rest over their peers and older rivals, scoring a pair of three-title romps in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala Buglasan Festival national age-group tennis tournament at the Praxevilla Tennis Courts in Dumaguete City Monday.

Both 14-year-olds, the PPS-PEPP Mac Crankit players topped their age group category then went to rule the 16- and 18-and-under divisions without dropping a set and share the MVP honors in the Group 2 event presented by Dunlop and sponsored by Gov. Roel Degamo which served as part of the Buglasan Festival.

Velez lived up to his top billing in the boys’ side, routing Khenz Justiniani, 6-0, 6-2, for the 14-U crown then toppled Sebastien Lhuillier, 6-2, 6-4, in the 16-U finals. The young Davao City star capped his feat with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Gauilian Bandoquillo.