THE BEST young players of the country see action in the 14th Truflex National age group championships which fire off today in four different venues in Lapu-Lapu City.
Among those seeing action are top age groupers like Roxanne Resma and Khim Iglupas who are members of the Philippine junior Fed Cup team. They will compete in the high-powered girls’ 16-under division.
The 14-under class will feature top seed Rafa Villanueva, a member of the 14-under World junior team competitons. Villanueva, Resma and Iglupas are all products of the Philippine Tennis Academy coached by former Davis Cup Jun Toledo.
In the 10-under unisex, the player to watch is Sebastian Lhuillier, son of long-time tennis patron Jean Henri and Olympic medalist Bea Lucero. Nio Tria, son of actress Cherry Pie Picache, will banner the boys’ 12-under as top seed.
Other favorites are Cebu stalwarts Jana Pages and Arthur Pantino, Metro Manila’s Dominique Ong, Jake Martin and Miko Eala, Cagayan de Oro’s Dave Mosqueda and Bacolod’s Fernando Arguelles.
Nine players from Hong Kong will join the fray coached by former Indonesian Davis Cupper Benny Lin Wijaya who is now based in the former crown colony.
The event, sponsored by Truflex Sports Surfacing Corporation and presented by Smart, is also supported by Megaworld’s Mactan New Town and Foton Motors.