Villaflor stuns Flores, gains quarterfinal

MANILA, Philippines - Unranked Geiel Villaflor shocked third seed Matthew Flores, 7-5, 6-0, to crash into the quarterfinal round of the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional age-group tennis circuit presented by Technifibre at the Mactan Island Tennis Club and Mactan Airbase Tennis Club in Lapu-Lapu City yesterday.

Villaflor, from Argao, Cebu, outlasted Flores in their back-and-forth first set duel then dominated his fancied rival in the second to emerge the lone unseeded bet in the Last 8 phase of the boys’ 14-and-under division of the event sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop and sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association.

Top seed Stephen Tubbs and No. 2 Jace Unto rolled past their respective rivals to lead the quarterfinalists along with Rey Dante Toledo, Maxine Ong, Francis Lambayan, Sebastian Santos and Venz Anton Alforque.

Tubbs held off Adrian Nacilla, 7-6 (10), 6-2; Unto clipped Jeryl Galeos, 6-1, 6-3; Toledo won over Jay Ricana, 6-3, 4-1(ret.); Ong toppled John Belikaol, 6-1, 6-1; Lambayan and Santos blanked Patrick Camello and Abraham Lawyer, 6-0, 6-0, respectively; and Alforque repulsed Jayford Canono, 7-5, 6-3.

Davao’s Patricia Velez whisked off Stephanie Espinosa to seal a quarters showdown with Gennifer Pagente in the girls’ 16-and-under class of the event which drew the participation of the top and rising junior players from Manila, Cagayan De Oro, Davao, Mindoro, Bacolod, Dumaguete, Bohol, Iloilo, Boracay, Leyte and Puerto Princesa.

Top seed Zethley May Alferez scored a walkover win over Josette Nator while the No. 2 Velez stayed on course for a twinkill with a 6-0, 6-4 romp over Xandra Tabotabo to storm into the quarters round of the 14-and-U category along with Valerie Sabuero and Pagente.

“With a slew of untapped but talented players, we expect more reversals as we head to the crucial phase of the tournament,” said Palawan Pawnshop COO Bobby Castro.