Eala headlines PH team in Junior Davis Cup Asia/Oceania tourney

PNA Photo

MANILA — Three of the country’s top Under 16 players flew to Malaysia on Friday to participate in the Junior Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying tournament.

Michael Francis Eala II, Jose Antonio Tria, and Matthew Anton Garcia will carry the national colors in the tournament, which will be held at the Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association (SLTA) in Kuching on April 9-14.

The 15-year-old Eala is currently No. 473 in the world juniors rankings. This year, he has played in three tournaments in China and one each in Hong Kong and Cambodia.

Tria, 15, began competing in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Juniors circuit in 2016. He has played in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, Brunei, Singapore and Cambodia and is now No. 1292 in the world juniors rankings.

Garcia, who is ranked No. 1465, has played in 17 tournaments since 2016.

This year, he has competed in two tournaments in Cambodia and one in Hong Kong.

The Philippine team will be coached by Patrick John Tierro, who will proceed to Malaysia after the World Juniors Tennis Championships in Thailand where he also served as coach of the Under 14 girls team composed of Alexandra Eala, Ma. Carmencita Carlos, and Julia Asaliah Ignacio.

The SLTA will be hosting the Junior Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying tournament for the sixth time.

SLTA president, Dato Patrick Liew, said the tournament will be interesting because the Top 3 players from each country will participate.

“It has always been our pleasure to host this event because it is more easy to manage the players and officials because this is a inter-team competition. The players and officials have to display a high level of discipline and sportsmanship as they are representing their respective countries,” Liew was quoted as saying in an article that appeared in the Borneo Post website on April 7.

A total of 16 countries are participating in the Junior Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying. These are Australia, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, South Korea, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and Pacific Oceania.

The tournament format is a best-of-three tie comprising two singles and one doubles matches.