Palawan-Cainta netfest kicks off

MANILA, Philippines - Over 200 players, headed by the country’s leading junior players and rising stars, prime up for a battle royale in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional age-group tennis circuit which gets going tomorrow at the Brookside Hills Tennis Club’s Shell court surface in Cainta, Rizal.

Top seeds Marcen Gonzales and Chrislyn Sioson banner the full field in the premier 18-and-under division with Elijah Arevalo and Chloe Mae Saraza heading the elite cast in the 16-and-U class of the week-long event hosted by Cainta Mayor Kit Nieto and presented by Technifibre.

“The event serves as part of Cainta’s tennis summer festival, which kicked off last week with the staging of the One Cainta Open and will culminate in next week’s Cainta Interclub,” said Nieto, adding that all the city’s tennis events are supported by the Cainta’s LGU (local government units) and Palawan Pawnshop.

Marcus del Rosario and Manuel Balce III are the top two seeds in the 32-player draw in the boys’ 14-U with Saraza also topbilling the girls’ side along with second seed Blanche Lagrisola along with No. 3 Miles Vitaliano and No. 4 Monica Therese Cruz.

Nio Trio and Vitaliano are the players to beat in the 12-U category while Jonathan Bernardo, Macie Carlos, Kryshana Brazal and Von Saraza are expected to contend for the 10-unisex crown in the event put up by Palawan Pawnshop COO Bobby Castro and sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association headed by Philta president and Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez.

“Palawan Pawnshop and Technifibre will continue providing our youth topnotch tournaments like this – in the countryside and here in Metro Manila,” said Castro

For details, call Philta referee and tournament director Bobby Mangunay at 0915-4046464.