Jarata siblings reach Andrada Cup final

FINALIST. Second seed Marc Andrei Jarata of La Union secured a final seat in thee boys’ 14-under category of the Andrada Cup at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center on Saturday (January 5, 2019). Jarata defeated fourth seed Darwin Cosca Jr., 6-2, 6-4. (PNA photo by Jess Escaros)

MANILA — Second seed Marc Andrei Jarata of La Union barged his way into the boys’ 14-under category final after posting a 6-2, 6-4 victory over fourth seed Darwin Cosca Jr. of Olongapo City in the 30th Andrada Cup Age Group Championships at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center on Saturday.

The 13-year-old Jarata, a Grade 8 student at the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU) in Agoo town, will defend his title against the unseeded Exequiel Jucutan of Pangasinan. Both are members of the Region 1 team, which won the gold medal in the 2017 Palarong Pambansa in Antique.

Jucutan, who was born and raised in Manaoag, has secured a final slot after eliminating top seed and Axl Lajon Gonzaga, 6-3, 6-4.

Jucutan, who attends a home-school program under Seibo College in Malabon, downed Gonzaga, 6-0, 6-3, in the quarterfinal of the PSC-PHILTA tournament two weeks ago. He lost to Gonzaga, 1-6, 6-4, 9-11 in the semifinal of the Andrada Cup last year.

“I played aggressively and consistently to beat him (Gonzaga),” said the 13-year-old Jucutan, who won the individual gold medal at the Batang Pinoy National Finals in Baguio City last year. He also bagged the bronze medal in the doubles event with Joshua Molina.

Marc Andrei’s sister, Marielle Alexi, also booked a final seat in the girls’ 12-under category, where she is the top seed. Marielle Alexi defeated Felicia Araneta, 6-0, 6-0, to set up a meeting with second seed Jayden Reece Ballado, who won over Alecsa Ilano, 6-3, 6-1.

Meanwhile, unranked John David Velez has kept his winning form to reach the championship round in the boys’ 18-under and 16-under categories of the tournament organized by the Philippine Tennis Association in honor of its former president, Col. Salvador Andrada.

The 14-year-old pride of Davao City toppled second seed Stefano Gurria, 7-5, 6-3, to advance in the 18-under final against sixth seed Rupert Ohrelle Tortal of Surigao City.

Tortal, who is a Grade 8 student at the Surigao City National High School, was leading 3-0 in the first set when top seed Jude Hidalgo retired due to leg cramps.

Velez, who attended a three-month training at the Mac’s Crankit Tennis Academy in Sydney, Australia this year, also booked a final berth in the 16-under category when he won over Jucutan, 6-4, 6-1.

Velez will face the top-seeded Gonzaga, who hacked out a 6-7 (1), 6-3, 10-4 victory over No. 10 Marco Macalintal of Laguna in the semifinal round.

The San Pablo City-based Macalintal was the 14-under champion in the 2018 Cablitas Cup. He won the individual bronze medal in the 2018 Batang Pinoy National Finals in Baguio City and his team got the silver medal in the 2017 Palarong Pambansa.

In the boys’ 12-under category, fourth seed Kean Sebastian Enriquez ousted second pick Kriz Roque Lim of Pangasinan, 2-6, 6-4, 12-10, to arrange a title showdown with unseeded Chad Connor Cuizon, a 6-0, 6-2 winner over fifth seed Samuel Salazar.

Lim, a Grade 5 student at the Lyceum of Northern Luzon in Urdaneta, bounced back in the 10 and under unisex category where he is the top seed. He won over Gavin Kraut, 4-2, 1-4, 7-3 to set up a title duel with No. 2 Jayden Reece Ballado, a 4-2, 4-2 winner over Samuel Davila.

The nine-year-old Lim defeated Ballado, 2-4, 4-0, 4-2, in the final of the PSC-PHILTA tournament last December.

In the girls division, top seed Ma. Patricia Lim outplayed third seed Jhastine Red Ballado, 4-6, 6-2, 10-7, to set up a final duel with unranked Crystal Mildwaters in the 18-under category.

Mildwaters won over unseeded Nina Sandejas, 6-0, 6-0.

PCA Open Juniors champion Jenaila Prulla of Quezon City flashed her deadly form anew to earn a final slot in the 16-under and 14-under categories.

Seeded fourth in the 14-under category, the 13-year-old Prulla defeated fifth seed Annika Diwa, 6-3, 6-0, to advance against second seed Angeline Alcala of Lucena City.

Prulla, who won the gold medal in the 2018 Batang Pinoy National Finals, stunned No. 1 Althea Fay Ong, 6-2, 6-4, in the 16-under category. She will dispute the title against unseeded Alexa Joy Milliam.