Central, Western Visayas survive secondary boys tennis knock-outs

ANTIQUE, Philiippines – Region VII (Central Visayas) and Region VI (Western Visayas) came out victoriously during the elimination round of the Palarong Pambansa 2017 secondary boys tennis division on Wednesday morning, April 26.

Region VII went against the Negros Island Region while Region VI fought Mimaropa (IV-B).

Region VII handles the heat

Under the immense heat of summer, players from all competing region struggled to find momentum at the Binirayan Tennis Courts. 

“Nanghina ako kuya dahil sa init,” said Gener Francis Lambayan of Region 7 after the game. (I felt exhausted because of the heat.)

Even with the heat though, Lambayan was able to muster the necessary energy to overcome KC Baran of the NIR.

Out of the gate, the Central Visayas representative came out firing, taking the early 5-1 lead, after using consistent service and a deadly forehand to keep his opponent off balance.

In the race to eight, however, Baran was able to comeback and even tie the match at six, before a regained focus eventually led Lambayan to the victory, 8-6.

“Energy lang po at consistency lang po,” the victor said. (Just energy and consistency.)

Just enough for Region VI

Likewise, Alfrancis Andrade of Western Visayas had a very difficult time overcoming the sun but did just enough to beat Region 4B’s MP Ong. 

“Especially talaga sa serve. Sa pag-toss ko po ng bola, nakikita ko lang po isyung sun. Same rin din sa kalaban kahit naka cap,” explained Andrade. (Especially with the serve. Every time I toss the ball, all I can see is the sun. It’s the same for the opponent even though he was wearing a cap.)

In this match, both players seemed at par with one another. With the game going back-and-forth, as the players traded games, it seemed fitting that the match would be decided by a tie-breaker. 

There, the two players would find themselves knotted at 6, yet again. Andrade finally ended the match with two forehand winners down the right sideline, to win the match 8-7 (8-6). 

“So far yung laro ko, nag-aadjust pa po ako sa court kasi bago po kasi yung court so halos lahat po ng player di pa naka-practice dito. Kahit dito home court, di kami naka-practice,” said an exhausted Andrade after the game.

(So far, in my game, I’m still trying to adjust to the court because it’s new and almost all players haven’t been able to practice on it. Even though this is my home court, we weren’t able to practice.)

With their wins, Lambayan and Andrade players advance to the next round of the tournament and will play again on Wednesday morning, April 27, at the same venue. – Rappler.com

READ: Palarong Pambansa 2017 stories by campus journalists