Santiago stuns Llavore, cops First Gen crown

Frances Santiago completed her remarkable campaign in the fourth First Gen/Juntaphil Metro Age Group tennis tournament, dominating top seed Janelle Llavore, 6-2, 6-1, to capture the girls 12-under crown at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center yesterday.

The win capped Santiago’s domination of the division as she also bested second seed Chrislyn Sioson, 6-4, 6-2, in the semis before stamping her class over Llavore to clinch the victory in the weeklong event presented by First Gen Corporation and sponsored by Smart Communications.

Santiago also lined herself up for a golden double as she blanked Christine del Monte, 6-0, 6-0, to reach the semis of the 14-under class against Jenni Dizon, who clobbered Therese Cruz, 6-1, 6-2.

In 16-under play, Ma. Angela Sunga stunned Anne Castillo with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 triumph to gain a crack at the crown in the tournament sanctioned by Philta, organized by Juntaphil and backed by Technifibre

Sunga, also in the hunt in the premier 18-under class, neutralized Castillo with a sterling baseline game to force a decider where she dominated her second-seeded rival in their semifinal showdown in the lower half of the draw.

But Sunga will need to double her effort to complete her title bid as she faces top seed Akiko de Guzman in one of today’s finals matches. De Guzman advanced with a 6-4, 2-1 (Ret.) win over third seed Katrina Orteza.

Samantha Coyiuto, meanwhile, breezed through the semis of the 18-under category with a 6-1, 6-1 romp over AJ Carnay for a showdown with De Guzman, who also scored an identical 6-1, 6-1 rout of Isabella Mendoza.

In boys’ play, top seed Dheo Talatayod beat Alfonso Opulencia, 6-1, 6-2, to set up a semis duel with Calvin Canlas, who disposed of Jeremiah Latorre, 6-2, 6-2; while No. 6 Romeo Dimakiling scored a 3-6, 6-3, 1(Ret.) win over second seed Betto Orendain for a semis clash with No. 3 Alberto Villamor, a walkover winner over Antonio Punzalan.

David Borbeck also pulled off a shock win over top seed Orendain, 6-4, 6-2, to advance to the quarterfinal round in the boys 16-under against Christian San Andres, who held off Vernon Huibonhua, 7-5, 6-2. The other Last 8 cast includes Lance Canizares, Pocholo Macalino, Daniel Um, Kyle Parpan, Vince Salas and second seed Hans Asistio.

Meanwhile, top seed Michael Eala and third ranked Diego Dayrit forged a final showdown for the 10-unisex by beating Marcus Del Rosario, 6-4, 6-1, and second seed Jonelle Llavore, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, respectively.