Sebastian, Olivarez in Phinma QF

MANILA, Philippines - Dave Sebastian and Eric Olivarez Jr. put their act together in the decider to thwart Korean Sanghoon Park and American partner Jack Pulliam, 3-6, 6-4 (10-7) to crash into the quarterfinal round of the boys’ doubles of the Phinma International Juniors Tennis Championships at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center yesterday.

Sebastian and Olivarez bucked a shaky first set with a gutsy stand in the second, breaking Park and Pulliam once to force a decider where they wore down their rivals to set a Last 8 encounter with the winner of the Chan Chak Yin-Brian Tran and Taiwan’s Huang Bo Yui-Miaou Ching-hao match.

Two more local bets, however, bowed out of the girls’ singles.  Katrina Orteza dropped a 3-6, 4-6 decision to Japan’s Shiori Fukuda and Jzash Eale Canja yielded a 3-6, 3-6 result to Chihiro Muramatsu, also of Japan.

That leaves Khim Iglupas as the lone Filipina standing in the event sponsored by Phinma Group of Companies after the Philippine Tennis Academy mainstay subdued Japanese Konomi Shida, 6-2, 6-2, Tuesday.   

She shoots for a quarterfinal berth today against Japan’s Haruna Arakawa, who stunned No. 6 R. Kahfiani of Indonesia in the opener.

Kimika Sakata of Japan defeated Singapore’s Rheeya Doshi, 6-1, 7-5, while Momoka Yoshida, also of Japan, foiled Aussie Katerina Valos, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, in the Grade 4 tournament sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association and backed by the Philippine Sports Commission, Dunlop Fort All Court Balls, Wilkins and Viva Mineral Water.

Meanwhile, Japan’s Arakawa and Saya Ito trounced Iglupas and Roxanne Resma, 6-2, 6-1, in one of the girls’ doubles matches in the first of two ranking tournaments featuring the top juniors players in the Asia-Pacific region.

John Bryan Decasa, meanwhile, pulled through in a back-and-forth decider, nipping Kento Yamada of Japan, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6, to gain in the boys’ side of the event Tuesday.

Week 2, meanwhile, is set Nov. 26-Dec. 1 with the qualifying sign-in slated on Nov. 23 and the elims to be held on Nov. 24-25, according to Philta administrative assistant Loida Mallare.