Flores, Raymundo top age-group tilt

LUKE Alquinn Flores and Toni Rose Raymundo clinched two titles each and turned in runner-up finishes to emerge the top players in the Philta-Palawan Pawnshop Regional Age-Group Championships presented by Babolat at La Carlota Tennis Club in Negros Occidental, Bacolod recently.

Flores, a 14-year-old old find from Central Philippine University in Iloilo, stopped giant-killer Adrian Dehertogh, 5-4, 4-0, to bag the boys’ 16-and-under crown then repulsed Iloilo leg winner Matthew Crisosto, 4-2, 2-4, 10-6, to capture the 14-U plum.

He, however, fell short to complete a three-peat as he dropped a sorry 4-1, 0-4, 4-10 setback to Prince Clelo in the 18-U finals of the event sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop through COO Bobby Castro and Technosports president Guillermo Nocom.

Raymundo, on the other hand, reigned in the girls’ 18- and 14-U divisions, humbling Bacolog leg winner Keanna Flores, 5-3, 4-1, and Rushlyn Clelo, 4-0, 4-1, respectively. Like Flores, she missed making it three-in-row as Flores dealt her a 4-1, 4-0 rout in the 16-U finals.

“Flores and Raymundo are just two players in a deep pool of young talents whom we’d like to develop and train for possible slots in the national pool,” said Philta president Rep. Edwin Olivarez.