Top seed Duane Batad and unranked Jerame Balaquit produced a pair of lopsided results to rule their respective divisions and lead the local bets’ romp in the PPS-PEPP Mati City national juniors tennis championships at the City of Mati courts in Davao Oriental recently.
Batad yielded just two games in four matches to pocket the boys’ 16-and-under title, capping his domination with an 8-0 rout of Jolimar Prado in the finals, while Balaquit blasted Louise Plaza in a duel of unfancied bets and took the girls’ 14-U diadem via the same scoreline in the Group 3 tournament.
Balaquit also gained cracks at the 16- and 18-U titles but fell short against Stephanie Abos from Banay-Banay, 8-4, and bowed to fellow Mati native Jaden Orquia, 8-1, respectively, although those were enough to net her a share of MVP honors with Batad in the four-day tournament.
Other homegrown winners were Martineto Bahay and Benedict Ukay, who bagged the boys’ 14- and 18-U trophies, respectively, while Dexter Salcedo topped the boys’ 12-U side and fellow Lupon native Roanne Garuda captured the girls’ 12-U crown in the non-ranking tournament which served as part of the country’s longest talent-search.
