INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines -- Jonicka Martina Guba of the Philippines overwhelmed top seed Natasha Palha of India in straight sets Sunday to capture third-place honors in the 2008 Asian 14-Under Series finals at the Boroondara Tennis Center in Melbourne, Australia.

After losing to India’s Vaidehi Bagvat in the semifinals, the 14-year-old Guba, who hails from La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, vented her ire on her conqueror’s compatriot for a comprehensive 6-2, 6-2 victory.

The win evened up the head-to-head duel between the two players, who are among the elite eight standouts from the Asian circuit invited to the tournament -- one of the side events of the Australian Open.

Guba dumped Anushka Bargava of India, 6-3, 6-2, Friday for her first win in the group stage.

But she was stopped on her tracks by hard-hitting No. 2 seed Prathanon Tombare, who handed her a tough three-set loss, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, Saturday.

The Negrense netter entered the semifinals as the No. 2 seed from her group after winning over Adelle Boey of Malaysia, who retired with Guba up, 2-0, in the first set.

Bagvat, however, pulled the plug on Guba’s bid with a 6-4, 6-4 win, before losing to Tombare. Cedelf P. Tupas, Inquirer Visayas