PH bows to S. Korea in Junior Davis Cup

The members of the Philippine Junior Davis Cup team. (L-R) Matthew Anton Garcia, Michael Francis Eala II and Jose Antonio Tria. (Photo by Michael Francis Eala via PNA)

MANILA — The Philippines suffered a 0-2 loss to South Korea in the Under-16 Junior Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying tournament at the Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association hard court in Kuching, Malaysia on Friday.

Matthew Anton Garcia lost to Lee Jae Myeong, 3-6, 3-6, in the first singles while Jose Antonio Tria was defeated by Kim Dong Ju, 1-6, 6-7 (3) in the second singles.

The doubles match between Tria-Michael Francis Eala II and Lee-Kim was not played.

Head coach Patrick John Tierro said his players did their best.

“We had our chances. We fought better players though. Uzbekistan is in the finals and they are really playing well.

They retrieve every ball so it’s hard to play them under the heat,” said Tierro in an interview on Friday night.

“My players need to work on their fitness so they can sustain the level of how they want to play,” said Tierro, a member of the Philippine Davis Cup team. He also coached the Under-14 girls’ team in the World Juniors Tennis Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying Round in Nonthaburi, Thailand last week.

The Philippines hopes to beat India on Saturday to finish seventh in the 16-nation tournament.

China, which scored a 2-0 victory over India, and South Korea will dispute fifth place.

Japan and Uzbekistan won their respective semifinal matches to arrange a title showdown. Japan outplayed Australia, 2-1, while Uzbekistan downed Hong Kong, 2-1.

Australia will face Hong Kong in the battle for third place.

Japan, Australia, Hong Kong and Uzbekistan have earned slots in the World Finals to be played in Hungary later this year.

Meanwhile, New Zealand beat Indonesia, 2-0, to advance against Thailand, which scored a 2-1 victory over Chinese Taipei, in the match that will decide the ninth-place team.

Indonesia and Chinese Taipei will face each other for 11th and 12th places.

Pakistan and Kazakhstan posted similar victories to forge a showdown for 13th and 14th places. Pakistan defeated Pacific Oceania, 2-1, while Kazakhstan trounced Singapore, 2-1.

Pacific Oceania will take on Singapore in the battle for 15th to 16th places. The winners of the Pacific Oceania vs.

Pakistan and Singapore vs. Kazakhstan matches will dispute 13th place.

In the round-robin elimination round, Japan swept its Group A assignments (Pacific Oceania, 3-0; Singapore, 3-0; and the Philippines, 2-0); Philippines won over Singapore, 2-1, and Pacific Oceania, 2-1; while Pacific Oceania beat Singapore, 2-1.

In Group B, Uzbekistan defeated Chinese Taipei (2-1), China (2-1) and Indonesia (3-0); China downed Indonesia (2-1) and Chinese Taipei (2-0) while Chinese Taipei prevailed over Indonesia (2-1).

In Group C, South Korea downed Thailand (3-0), Pakistan (2-1) and India (2-1); India won over Pakistan (3-0) and Thailand (2-1) while Thailand defeated Pakistan (2-1).

In Group D, Australia outclassed New Zealand (3-0), Kazakhstan (3-0) and Hong Kong (3-0); Hong Kong clobbered New Zealand (3-0) and Kazakhstan (3-0); while New Zealand scored a 2-0 victory over Kazakhstan (2-0).

The top two teams from each group advanced to the quarterfinals.