Pantino, Nadal scholar Eala continue roll in junior championships

Alex Eala

Arthur Craig Pantino and Alex Eala booked semifinal berths in the Phinma-PSC International Junior Championships Friday at Manila Polo Club in Makati.

The 13-year-old Eala, a full-time scholar at Rafael Nadal Academy where she is an incoming eighth grader, advanced to the girls’ final four after a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 victory over 14-year-old Li Yu-yun of Chinese Taipei.

She will battle another Taiwanese in the semifinals, 16-year-old Fang Wei-ning, who booted out second seed Saki Oyama of Japan, 7-6 (4), 6-2.

Pantino, 17,  showed sharpness in drubbing New Zealand’s Corban Crowther, 6-2, 6-1, in the boys’ quarterfinals.

“Arthur is playing good so far and we are on track, but it’s a tough field out there and we need to carefully study the players he’s facing,” said Pantino’s coach Jun Toledo of Philippine Tennis Academy.

Boys’ singles top seed Mann Shah of India made the semifinals after beating Taiwanese Lo Yi-Jui, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

He will next face Tom Evans of Australia who booted out Japanese Kokoro Isomura, 6-3, 6-2.

Pantino also planted a stake in boys’ doubles after making the finals with compatriot Justin Suarez, beating Crowther and Marcus del Rosario of the Philippines, 6-2, 6-4.

They will face Evans and Japanese Fumiya Yoshino, who outlasted Jean Marc Malkowski of Switzerland and Zsombor Velcz of Hungary, 6-4, 1-6, (13-11). Yoshino is also Pantino’s singles semifinal foe.