PHL netter Otico triumphs in China

John Bryan Decasa Otico gave the Philippines another honor after clinching the boys’ doubles crown at the China Junior Tennis Championships Saturday. (Photo: russellstreet/ Flickr)

MANILA–John Bryan Decasa Otico gave the Philippines another honor after clinching the boys’ doubles crown at the China Junior Tennis Championships Saturday.

The second-seeded pair of Otico and Japanese Seita Watanabe won the title over Chinese Taipei’s Chang-Lin Tsai and Ming-yuan Yang, 6-4, 6-2, at the Potter’s Wheel International Tennis Center in Beijing.

Arthur Craig Pantino, the other Filipino in the main draw of the Group 3 event sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation, and Indian partner Karan Srivastava were eliminated in the first round by Hong Kong’s Ki Lung Ng and Taiwan’s Yu-Hsiang Su, 7-5, 4-6, [8-10].

In the singles division, the fourth-seeded Otico lost his semifinal match to No. 2 Japanese Taisei Ichikawa, 2-6, 2-6.

Pantino, seeded sixth, bowed to unseeded Taiwanese Ray Ho, 1-6, 2-6, in the quarterfinal round.

James Kent Trotter of Japan, seeded third, won the singles title over Ichikawa, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0.

The Beijing competition was Otico’s fourth tournament this year. He reached the doubles quarterfinals in the Sarawak Chief Minister’s Cup in Malaysia and the PTT-ITF Juniors in March and was singles champion in the EFG-ITF Juniors in Hong Kong last January.