Cabusas, Cano stun rivals, reach Olivarez finals

MANILA, Philippines - Fourth-ranked Joel Cabusas and Andrew Joshua Cano hacked out a pair of straight-set victories over their fancied rivals to barge into the finals of the second Olivarez-Philta Open Tennis Championships presented by Palawan Pawnshop Express Pera Padala at the Olivarez Sports Center in Sucat late Tuesday.

Cabusas, playing out of UST, broke Argil Canizares once in the opening set then re-asserted his mastery over his second seeded foe in the second to complete a 6-4, 6-3 victory in the lower half of the semifinal draw in the boys’ premier 18-and-under category.

He hopes to measure up against Eric Jed Olivarez in the finals set tomorrow after the top-seeded bet struggled past a tough Cano, 7-5, 7-6 (5), in their own side of the semis.

The fourth seeded Cano, however, set up a rematch with Olivarez, this time for the 16-and-under title after the former, a mainstay of Letran, shocked top seed Marcen Gonzales, 6-1, 6-1, and the latter, ranked No. 2 in the category, turned back No. 3 Stefan Suarez, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.

No. 16 Godfrey Seno, meanwhile, routed 10th-ranked Gabriel Tiamson, 6-0, 6-0, to capture the 14-and-under title in the two-week long event sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop Express Pera Padala with Dunlop as official ball.

Top seed Michael Eala trounced Nio Tria, 6-0, 6-3, to arrange a title showdown with No. 4 Ryotaro Shimomura, who beat Sebastian Santos, 6-1, 6-4, in the 10-unisex class of the ranking tournament sanctioned by Philta.

In Interclub play, Team Olivarez swept College Country Club, 7-0, in Group B while Team Cebuana nipped Villamor-Dakak, 4-3, to post its second straight win in Group A.

In the ladies intercollege category, UST-A faces UST-B while National U-A tangles with St. Benilde-A for berths in the finals of the P300,000 event which also features the country’s leading players in the Open category.