CEBU, Philippines – Pops Sabandon and Ricky Lagac, Jr. terminated their respective rivals in contrasting fashion to set up a title showdown in the open singles division of the 2009 Mandaue Fiesta Men’s Open Tennis Tournament at the Mandaue City Tennis (MCTC) courts.
Sabandon bounced back from a second-set drawback with finesse to topple Lorelo Bu Alburo, 7-6, 2-6, 6-1, while Lagac easily manhandled Michael Quiñones in straight sets, 6-2, 6-1 to book the remaining final ticket.
As of this writing yesterday, Sabandon and Lagac were still slugging it out for the P15,000 grand prize. The loser will take home P8,000.
In the doubles event, Sabandon and Lagac set aside their rivarly for a moment and teamed up to crush Christian “Babaw” Tiongko and Adonis Lominoquez, 7-5, 6-4, to breeze through the champoinship round.
Sabandon and Lagac will face in the final round the tandem of Kennex Abadia and Ryan Repunte, who elbowed out Alburo and Quiñones in a three-set battle, 6-3, 3-6, 11-9 that thrilled the spectators to the bones.
The champion in the doubles category will pocket P10,000, while the first runner-up will receive P5,000.
Sponsored by the city government of Mandaue under the leadership of Mayor Jonas Cortes, the four-day tilt serves among the highlights of the annual fiesta of the Mandauehanons, which incidentally falls today, in honor of their beloved patron St. Joseph the Worker.
The tournament is run by Adonis Lominoque assisted by Bobby Soquiño and Dodong Solon in coordination with club advisers Engrs. Raul Sanchez and Dario Mago. — EBV (THE FREEMAN)