Fil-Ams Mamiit, Taino spearhead SEAG tennis drive

An ace for Philippine tennis.

Cecil Mamiit, a veteran of the men’s ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Tour, yesterday confirmed his stint for the Philippines in the 23rd Southeast Asian Games together with fellow Fil-Am Eric Taino, thus boosting the country’s gold medal chances in both the singles and doubles event in the biennial games set Nov. 27-Dec. 5 here.

"It’s a great feeling and honor for me to be here and get this chance to represent the Philippines," said the 29-year-old Mamiit, who trounced SEAG rivals Danai Udomchoke and Sanchai Ratiwatana of Thailand on his way to a second-place finish in a tournament in Waikoloa, Hawaii last January.

"We have high expectations for sure, we’re bringing in here a lot of experience," said Taino, 30, a doubles specialist who is one of the only few players who had a winning record (2-0) over former No. 1 Michael Chang.

Buddy Andrada, president of the Philippine Amateur Tennis Association and the Asian Tennis Federation, said he is pinning his hopes on Mamiit and Taino, whose international exposures in Europe and the United States leading to the SEAG wars will be bankrolled by tennis godfather Jean Henri Lhuillier of Cebuana Lhuillier.

"I have no doubt in my mind that we will be able to get the gold medals in the SEA Games this time," said Andrada in a press conference at the Philippine Columbian Association in Paco, Manila. He was accompanied by fellow Philta officials Manuel Misa and Ajay Pathak.

Truly, Mamiit and Taino could snap a long gold medal drought for RP in the SEA Games.

"We know what it takes to win. We’ve been out there and we have a lot of experience," said Mamiit, who will leave along with Tainio on Good Friday for Europe in time for the Wimbledon Open then will fly straight to the US for the US Open.

"We’re pretty confident we can handle it," Taino added.

The last time the country won the men’s doubles gold was in the 1993 Singapore Games during the time of Felix Barrientos and Roland So while the country’s last men’s singles gold came in the 1991 Manila edition, courtesy of Barrientos.

Czarina Mae Arevalo and Fil-German Anja Peters will compose the women’s squad, both hoping to match Maricris Fernandez’s gold medal finish in the singles event of the 1999 Brunei Games.

Meanwhile, promising teener Kyle was chosen by the International Tennis Federation to join the four-man under-16 Asian training team competing in camps and tournaments in Italy and France from May to July.