Pantino reaches doubles quarterfinal in Sarawak

Arthur Craig Pantino (second from right) is a member of the Philippine Junior Davis Cup team which competed in New Delhi, India in 2016. (Photo taken from Arthur Pantino’s Facebook account)

MANILA — Cebuano Arthur Craig Pantino made it to the doubles quarterfinal round of the 31st Chief Minister’s Cup on Thursday at the Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association Centre in Kuching, Malaysia.

Playing in his only third tournament this year, the 16-year-old Pantino teamed up with Kazakhstan’s Beibit Zhukayev to beat Japanese pair Kai Kawano and Taiyo Yamanaka, 6-3, 6-4, in the first round before eliminating third seeds Rinky Hijikata and Dane Sweeny of Australia, 6-4, 6-4, in the second round.

The Fil-Kazakh tandem will next meet fifth seeds Seong Yong Han of South Korea and Ye Cong Mo of China, who won over Anton Ornberg of Sweden and Fumiya Yoshino of Japan, 7-5, 7-5.

Pantino made an early exit in the singles competition when he lost to Kawano, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-1.

Last week, Pantino lost in the second round of both the singles and doubles categories in the PTT-ITF Junior Grade 1 tournament in Nonthaburi, Thailand.

After Malaysia, he will compete in the China 6 Juniors tournament to be held at the Sichuan International Tennis Center from March 27-31.

Pantino, who is the highest ranked Filipino in the ITF world juniors at No. 208, is a Grade 9 student at the Seibo College in Malabon City. He is mentored by Jun Toledo, a former Davis Cupper who is now working at the Philippine Tennis Academy (PTA) which is sponsoring the Cebuano’s international trips.

The PTA is headed by long-time tennis patron Romeo Chan, who has supported many former national players such as Bobbie Angelo and Camoy Palahang, SEA Games and Fed Cup veteran Khim Iglupas; Davis Cup player John Bryan Otico and promising players Shaira Hope Rivera, Bliss Bayking, and Sydney Ezra Enriquez.

Last January, Pantino joined the Hong Kong International Tennis Federation (ITF) Juniors Championships where he won the doubles title with Thailand’s Kasidit Samrej. The Cebuano, however, lost his semifinal match to Chinese Taipei’s Chang-lin Tsai, 2-6, 2-6, in the singles.

Pantino won his first ITF Juniors title in November last year, beating compatriot John Bryan Otico in the final of the Phinma-PSC International Juniors 2 at the Manila Polo Club indoor clay court in Makati City.

Pantino also won back-to-back doubles titles in the two-leg tournament organized by the Philippine Tennis Association. He won the second leg title with Otico while he teamed up with Michael Francis Eala in the first leg.

In October 2017, Pantino pocketed the doubles title with Beibit Zhukayev of Kazakhstan in the 1st ITF Perlis Junior Championships in Malaysia.