Patrimonio foils Balanga, regains Olivarez Cup title

MANILA, Philippines - Top seed Clarice Patrimonio poured it all out and overpowered No. 2 Edilyn Balanga in the decider, scoring a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory to reclaim the ladies singles crown in the fourth Olivarez Cup Open Tennis Championship presented by Palawan Pawnshop at the Olivarez Sports Center in Parañaque yesterday.

Patrimonio, who lost the crown she won last year to absentee Marian Capadocia last March, recovered from a close second-set defeat with a strong performance in the third, blasting away winners while pouncing on Balanga’s injury to pocket the crown worth P15,000.

The Spain-based Balanga sustained a left hamstring injury in the first game of the third, slowing her down and enabling Patrimonio to take command.

The National University freshman earlier teamed up with sister Christine to outlast Balanga and Alyssa Labay, 6-2, 2-6, 10-8, to bag the ladies doubles crown and complete NU’s romp in the week-long event held in honor of Philta president and Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez and presented by Palawan Pawnshop.

NU also took the men’s doubles plum as third seed Leander Lazaro and Ronard Joven stunned top ranked Marc Reyes and Patrick John Tierro, 7-6(6), 6-2, underscoring the school’s sound tennis development program.

Lazaro and Joven earlier bundled out second seed Johnny Arcilla and Vicente Anasta, 6-4, 6-4, while Reyes and Tierro repulsed Jason Patrombon and Fritz Verdad, 2-6, 6-2, 10-7.

At presstime, top seed defending champion Arcilla and the third-ranked Tierro were disputing the men’s singles crown in the tournament sanctioned by Philta and backed by Dunlop.

The Patrimonio-Balanga duel appeared headed to a down-to-the-wire finish after the former broke the latter once to win the opening set before Balanga struck back in the second to avert a sweep.