Tennis kids battle in Jakarta

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines will be represented by three Mindanao kids in the World U14 pre-qualifiers in Jakarta on Feb. 17-22 with the Davis Cup format making it a battle royale among 16 countries.

The top two finishers will advance to the qualifiers leading to the World U14 Championships. The Philippine team is made up of Aslan Carbonilla of Lanao del Norte, 14, Christian Angus of Davao City, 13 and Al Rasheed Lucman of Malaybalay, Bukidnon, 12. The Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) designated Davis Alano as coach. Each tie is composed of two singles matches and a doubles, if necessary to break a tie. The delegation left Manila for Jakarta yesterday.

Philta held a qualifying tournament among the country’s No. 2 to No. 8 players plus two wildcards in Tagum, Davao del Norte, last month to determine the national squad’s composition.  As the country’s No. 1 U14 player, Carbonilla, who turned 14 last Feb. 8, was seeded outright. So only two slots were up for grabs. Angus and Lucman made it to the final, booking their tickets to Jakarta. Angus tripped Lucman, 8-4, in the championship match that was reduced to a straight-to-8 one-setter because of rain.

Carbonilla and Lucman train at the PTA (Philippine Tennis Academy) weekend camp in Cagayan de Oro supervised by coach Bebot Sanchez under Tibs Palasan. Carbonilla and his mother drive three hours in a car from Lanao del Norte to Cagayan de Oro where they stay the night on Saturday so he can train the full weekend. Lucman motors two to three hours from Malaybalay with his father to train at the PTA center on Saturdays. Angus trains on weekends at the PTA center in Davao City under coach Boy Diong.

The 5-7 Carbonilla is tall for his age and said he got his height from his father Rogelio, a seaman who’s 5-11. His uncle Rayban Paler, a Singapore tennis coach, taught him the basics when he was six on the hard and clay public courts only a 10-minute tricycle ride away from home. He fell in love with the sport at first sight and plays it every day. When he finishes Grade 8 at Lala National High School in Lanao del Norte in April, Carbonilla will move to Alabang, stay in PTA founder Rommie Chan’s home, train with PTA coaches and compete here and abroad. He’ll enroll at La Salle Zobel.

Last October, Carbonilla upset bigger and stronger opponents on the way to the PTT Asian U14 final in Bangkok. “He’ll outlast you,” said PTA coach Jun Toledo. “He can play three to four hours and never gets tired. Aslan’s forehand is strong, he’s quick and he has a good attitude. No problem with his strokes and technique. His consistent groundstrokes frustrate his opponents. What he lacks is muscle. Our boys are talented and skills-wise, they can compete against anyone in the world but when it comes to playing bigger and stronger Europeans, we’re at a disadvantage. Nutrition is something we need to address to get our kids ready for a higher level of competition.”

Angus is a Grade 7 student at St. Paul College of Davao. He’s ranked No. 14 in the U14 ladder and made it to the Tagum final as a wildcard. An only child, he learned the game at six from his father, Dr. Vic, a former national junior player. He plays two to three hours after school on the courts in the village where his family stays then trains at the PTA center on weekends. Constant practice and hard work earned for Angus a spot on the national team and Jakarta will be his first foreign competition.

Lucman said his father Aludin, a Department of Agrarian Reform employee, taught him the game when he was five and now, he claims the student is a better player than the teacher.  Last year, Philta picked Lucman and Darwin Cosca to train in Thailand and the exposure has been a boost. In the Tagum qualifiers, Lucman upset Cosca, 8-5. Like Angus, this will be Lucman’s first foreign tournament.

The three kids met their idol Nino Alcantara at Chan’s backyard tennis court in Alabang recently and got sage advice from the Davis Cupper and Southeast Asian Games gold medalist. “Nino told them to support each other because the pre-qualifying tournament is a team event, to do their best, to play for our country not for themselves,” said Toledo. “Nino encouraged them to enjoy the moment but to give it all they’ve got.”

Jakarta will also host the Jr. Davis Cup and the Jr. Federation Cup on Feb. 22-29. The Philippines will be represented by PTA boys Rupert Tortal, Joewyn Pascua and Angil Balaoing in the Jr. Davis Cup while No. 1 Jen Prulla, No. 2 Alexa Miliam and PTA’s Jufe Cocoy make up the girls team in the Jr. Federation Cup.