Davis Cup comeback inspires PH netters

GUANGZHOU—After watching the Davis Cup team come back from the jaws of defeat in the tie against South Korea, tennis ace Cecil Mamiit is optimistic of a strong finish in the Asian Games here.

“I think the win, more than anything, taught the team that there’s no deficit too big to hurdle,” Mamiit said Wednesday.

The Philippine team fell, 0-2, to Korea in their last Davis Cup duel but Mamiit and fellow Fil-Am Treat Huey fueled a spirited rally against the hosts in the doubles to trigger the scintillating comeback that kept the country in Group 1.

Now, Mamiit and Huey are hoping that the high morale will carry over to the Asiad for the national tennis squad, which won two bronze medals in the 2006 Doha edition.

“We’ll really give it our best shot,” said Mamiit.  “It’s going to be hard because the Asiad roster is so deep, but we know we can really compete.”

Mamiit cited the likes of Korea, which is reportedly fielding in a different squad for the Asiad, Thailand, and former Soviet republics Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as tough hurdles to the podium.

“We should be able to compete well in doubles and the team competition because we’ve been working on the team concept for the Davis Cup,” said Mamiit.

The veteran netter is expected to also team up with Huey to banner the team’s doubles stint.

The team to the Asiad, which starts Friday, is also made up of coach Cris Cuarto, Johnny Arcilla and Ruben Gonzales. They arrived on a chilly evening here with a huge delegation that included the shooting team led by Tac Padilla.