Patrombon, Arcilla forge Las Piñas title duel

Jeson Patrombon overcame Elbert Anasta, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, while Johnny Arcilla downed PJ Tierro, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4), Saturday to arrange a title showdown Sunday in the La Consolacion Open Invitational tennis championship in Las Pinas.

Patrombon, trying to patch things up with his management outfit, played steadily to oust his Davis Cup teammate Anasta while Arcilla, the 33-year-old veteran, reasserted his mastery over Tierro, his quarterfinal foe in the 7th PCA Open which he eventually won recently.

The champion will go home with P60,000 in the week-long tourney which featured the country’s top eight players in a round-robin elimination to determine the top four in the semifinals.

Patrombon reached the semifinals Friday with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 victory over 13-year-old tennis sensation AJ Lim.

The 19-year-old Patrombon was dropped from the Tennis Academy of the Philippine Foundation because of alleged misconduct.

Other top PH players who joined the yearend event were Filipino-Italian Marc Reyes, former Cupper Rolando Ruel and US NCAA Division 1 player Kyle Dandan.