Niu trips Nicolas, faces Lee in senior exec netfest semis

Top seed Charlie Niu thumped Lito Nicolas to arrange a semifinal showdown with Peterson Lee in the premier division of the first Senior Executives Tennis Championships at the Quezon City Sports Club indoor shell courts on E. Rodriguez Ave. in Quezon City over the weekend.

Niu, playing out of the Philippine Columbian Association, displayed fine form to fashion out a 6-0, 6-1 victory and set up a semis duel with Lee, who subdued brother Jefferson, 6-4, 6-3, in the 35-years-old men’s singles category.

Gerry Sadang of Fort Bonifacio survived Ricky Agana’s fightback and squeezed out a 6-2, 7-5 triumph to clinch the other semis berth in the event organized by the Philippine Tennis Management, Inc.

Niu later teamed up with Michael Sy to beat the tandem of Chito Estanislao and Arnel Tiquia of Rizal Sports Club, 6-1, 6-1, and lead the winners in the doubles division. The Lee brothers, son of Peter Lee of Hongkong Tea House, likewise advanced to the next round with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Expedito Lim and Cesar Tan.

Others who advanced in the men’s singles of the week-long tournament featuring the country’s top senior executives in various age brackets were Willy Muyrong and People’s Journal’s Robert Mananquil, the top seed in the 45-and-above class. Muyrong won over Gerard Barnhard of the Swiss Embassy while Mananquil disposed of Rollie Malicsi.

In the 55-and-above division, Raul Narciso of Angeles City trounced Teiji Kimura of the host club, 6-4, 6-4, to advance to the quarterfinals of the event, staged by PTMI as part of its talent identification program nationwide and sponsored by Dunlop-Slazenger, Forten Tennis Accessories, Adidas, Sulo Hotel and Racks Restaurant.

Volken Avenmorg, director of the German Cultural Center, also teamed up with Gerard Barnhard of the Swiss Embassy to score a 6-1, 6-2 win over the Fort Yerro-Rollie Malicsi pair in the 45-and-above class. The Morris Melendez-Sonny Santiago tandem of Hillsborough Country Club likewise swept past former Gintong Alay executive director Bong Ilagan and GAB commissioner Angel Bautista, 6-3, 6-4, in the 55-and-above category.