Davis Cup Group II Finals; Pinoy netters brace for uphill battle vs. Kiwis

CEBU, Philippines - The Philippines braces for an uphill battle in its quest to return to the top tier in tennis as it hosts the tough New Zealand side in the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Zone Group II finals on September 13-15 at the Plantation Bay Resort and Spa in Lapu-Lapu City.

"It's the first time that we will be playing against a non-Asian team and New Zealand is tough. The fact that they made it to the finals only shows how good they are as a team," said Davis Cup Philippine Administrator Randy Villanueva during the signing of the memorandum of agreement formalizing Lapu-Lapu's fifth hosting of the prestigous event yesterday at the Savannah lounge of the post resort.

"The Kiwis will also be coming over here early to prepare for this. It only shows how important is this tie for them," added Villanueva, who was with Lapu-Lapu Mayor Paz Radaza, Councilor Don Harry Radaza, Plantation Bay Vice President for Marketing Efren Belarmino and acting General Manager Nenette Castillon during the MOA signing.

Though he holds New Zealand with high respect, Villanueva is highly optimistic on the Pinoys' chances of beating the Kiwis considering their familiarity of the playing court coupled with the so-called 'homecourt' magic.

"We're going to host them again in our favorite surface. With our players' familiarity of the court and the support of the home crowd, we have good chances," said Villanueva.

The winner of the Phl-Nez Zealand match will be promoted to the elite Group I in the 2014 season. Phl was demoted from Group I after suffering back-to-back losses to Japan and Chinese-Taipei in 2011, but wins over Syria, 3-2, and Thailand, 4-1, last April vaulted the Pinoys on the brink of return.

While Phl handily beat the Thais to barge into the third and final round, New Zealand completed just one rubber, and lost it, in their second round battle against Pakistan, but the Kiwis were handed victory by the Davis Cup organizers due to an unplayable court at neutral venue Myanmar. 

The 42-ranked Philippines enjoys a 3-2 lead over New Zealand, the 39th best nation on Davis Cup ratings, in their previous five meetings, but the Kiwis prevailed over their Filipino rivals via a 5-0 shutout in their most recent encounter two years ago.

Although the deadline for official team nominations is on September 3 yet, Fil-Ams Treat Conrad Huey and Ruben Gonzales are expected to banner the country's campaign in the three-day joust along with Johnny Arcilla, Francis Casey Alcantara and Jeson Patrombon. The likes of Elbert Anasta and Patrick John Tierro are also being considered.

They will go up against New Zealanders Dan King-Turner, Artem Sitak and Marcus Daniell who are considerably higher than them in the world rankings.

This marks for the fifth time in two years that the city government of Lapu-Lapu in partnership with Plantation Bay and the Philippine Tennis Association (PHILTA) is hosting a Davis Cup tie and it came only a month after it staged the Cobra Ironman 70.3 Philippinas that drew over 2,000 participants from 35 countries across six continents.

"This only shows the trust and confidence the organizers have in Lapu-Lapu City [in handling international events of such magnitude ," said Councilor Harry Radaza.

Testament to that, Villanueva said that during the annual convention of the International Tennis Federation three weeks ago in Paris, France, the ITF officials made special mention of Lapu-Lapu City " as one of the nice examples on how to host a Davis Cup tie."

"We would like to invite everyone to witness the event because in every new play, we always have to think new ideas to make it more enjoyable for the spectators," said Mayor Paz Radaza.

Aside from the top-level competition, fans should also look forward to the 'Commitment Awards" ceremony honoring three outstanding Filipino netters in Johnny Jose, Johnny Arcilla and Raymundo Deyro for their stirring exploits in the sport.

 Villanueva said it will be a great honor for the awardees as they will receive actual Davis Cup trophies from London. "Several countries are giving this award also and we want to be part of it," he said. (FREEMAN)