IRIGA CITY—Eighteen-year-old Jeson Patrombon gets the daunting task of opening the Philippine campaign when he faces Cyril Jacobe of Pacific Oceania in the first singles Friday while Treat Huey takes on Michael Leong in the other singles of the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group 2 tie here.
Non-playing team captain Cecil Mamiit, who will be on the sidelines for the first time since pulling the country to Group 1 from Group 3 in 2006, threw his full support behind the former junior standout who is the highest ranked PH player in the team at 874th.
As No. 1 player, he will face Pacific Oceania’s No. 2 guy Jacobe, who is a 28-year-old veteran from Vanuatu.
Huey, ranked 47th in doubles but not in the top 1,000 in singles, will battle Pacific Oceania’s top player Michael Leong, a tough-playing veteran of 21 ties for the 18-country collective group from the Pacific Ocean outside Australia and New Zealand.
Matches start at 3 p.m. at the University of St. Anthony Forum, an indoor hardcourt inside the city’s biggest school which sits on the foot of an imposing but dormant volcano named after the city.
“It’s more on experience for him (Patrombon), it’s giving more exposure for him, he’s been playing in lots of tournaments abroad,” said Mamiit. “It’s a good position for him to play in the first game instead of waiting for the nerves to gather. There is a lot of expectation for our team so I wanna keep the level high, think positive and give it our all.”
Mamiit also appeared to have rolled nicely into his new role saying “I have always been a mentor to the team since playing in 2006. My goal is always to help. And I will do that regardless of my position.”
Patrombon is only on his third tie but created a buzz last year when he beat Chinese Taipei’s No. 1 and top 100 player Jimmy Wang, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, in Lapu Lapu City.
“Thank you for the chance. I am ready and I will play hard so as not to disappoint our countrymen,” said the Iligan City native.
The Cebuana Lhuillier-Philippines team is ranked 41st in Davis Cup and is playing in Group 2 after a two-year stint in Group 1.