Mcleen Gomera pulled through in the boys’ 16-and-under division while Jana Jelena ruled the girls’ 14-U side as they grabbed the Most Valuable Player crowns in the Masters Top 8 at the SRJI Center Mall courts in San Carlos, Negros Occidental on Monday.
Six others also topped their respective age-group categories but Gomera, from Lanao del Norte, and Jelena, from Cavite, posted the worthiest victories to clinch the top honors in the tournament which gathered the top ranking junior players in last year’s edition of the country’s longest talent-search presented by Dunlop.
Gomera crushed fellow Lanao del Norte bet Kale Cyd Villamar, 6-0, 6-0, in the finals of the 16-U class that included Kurt Barrera, Gio Manito, Ariel Cabaral, Reign Maravilla and siblings Frank and France Dilao.
He earlier trounced Manito, 6-2, 6-2, in the crossover semis with Villamar holding off Maravilla, 7-6(4), 6-3.
Jelena, on the other hand, repulsed Jayden Ballado, 6-3, 7-6(1), in the 14-U battle that featured Marlyn Mesiona, Jan Dagoon, Jayden Ballado, Kate Imalay, Avegail Ansay, Queen Villa and Faith Lazaro.
Hans Cabellon, from Pardo, Cebu, and La Carlota’s Alexa Joy Milliam, meanwhile, captured the titles and gained ranking points in the premier 18-U category with the former ripping San Jose, Nueva Ecija’s Ivan Charles Manila, 6-0, 6-1, and the latter turning back Lapu-Lapu City’s Claire Nocos, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
Other winners in the week-long event were Kimi Brodeth, Maristella Torrecampo, Josh Benedict Lim and Armik Gabrio Serillo.
Brodeth toppled Bacolod’s Hannah Divinagracia, 4-6, 6-0, 6-0, for the girls’ 16-U trophy; Torrecampo repelled Ma. Caroliean Fiel, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, in the girls’ 12-U finals; Lim warded off Kenzo Brodeth, 7-5, 6-0, for the boys’ 14-U title; and Serillo defeated Claudwin Tonacao, 6-1, 6-3, to snare the boys’ 12-U crown.
