THE CEBUANA Lhuillier-Philippine Davis Cup team, fielding its youngest team in years, remains confident when it tackles a formidable Indonesia side in the Davis Cup Group 2 finals this week in Jakarta.
The Filipinos left Sunday for the Sept. 14 to 16 tie that decides which team moves up to Group 1.
With an average age of 23 years old and half of them made up of homegrown players, the PH Cuppers will attempt to stop a team that is built around a tough veteran in Christopher Rungkat, who led the Indonesians in last year’s Southeast Asian Games and in a previous tie against Thailand.
“We will go up against a hometown crowd but we are ready,” said team manager Jean Henri Lhuillier of his team made up of 27-year-olds Treat Huey and Ruben Gonzales, 19-year-old Jeson Patrombon and 20-year-old Francis Casey Alcantara.
The Philippines won four of the past nine outings against Indonesia including the last one in 2000.
Rungkat, the 22-year-old ranked No. 355th in the world in singles, spearheaded a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Thailand last April in their Davis Cup Group 2 semifinals also held in Gelora Bung Karno tennis stadium in Jakarta.