Pinoy netters bow to Iranians

The Philippines dropped both the reverse singles to a resilient Iran side, eventually losing its Davis Cup Asia-Oceania Zone II relegation tie, 2-3, at the PCA Indoor Courts in Paco.

As a consequence, the Filipinos will be demoted to Group III next year in a worst-ever stint in the Davis Cup hostilities.

Rolando Ruel, Jr. suffered cramps midway in his game with Anasha Shagholi and the Filipino bungled a first set lead and lost the deciding match, 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 1-6, that clinched the win for the visiting squad.

Earlier, Johnny Arcilla, who came in as a last-minute replacement for Ruel in their doubles victory for a 2-1 RP lead Saturday, bowed to Raziani Ramin, 4-6, 4-6, 6-7(5).

"We were doing well early in the match but suddenly, tumigas na lang ang binti niya," said non-playing RP coach Martin Misa. "It's really sad and I feel bad but we can't do anything about it. All I can say is he went down fighting despite the cramps and all."

Playing only in his second Davis Cup match, Ruel played with sheer guts and power to win the first set but cramps in the middle of the second set stymied the bid of the Filipino, enabling Shagholi to seize the initiative.

Trailing, 2-3, and 30-40 in the sixth game of the second set, Shagholi pounced on the limping Ruel with solid forehand and backhand shots to take the next four games, and the set, before coasting to victory.