El Nino on fire
Heroes do not necessarily die in battle. They are the ones who perspire to inspire others, be it in combat or in the sports arena, or even in the bigger field of life.
Francis Casey “El Niño” Alcantara is doing just that : inspire the Philippine tennisters. For this year, Francis racked-up six doubles titles already in the International Tennis Federation ( ITF Futures ) tournaments.
His feat this year is punctuated by three straight doubles championships . He took four out of six straight ITF Futures tournaments, and being a finalist in two others. This a record of sorts. It is as if he has decoded the tennis doubles formula.
His tennis career is trailblazing. The only Filipino who won in the doubles boys Australian Open in 2009, the El Niño changed the tennis landscape in the Philippines.
His life though is not all tennis. Education has been foremost in his mind. He can only play tennis while his legs are strong. But eventually, father time will catch-up with him. After graduating from Xavier University High School - Ateneo de Cagayan, he went to the United States on a college tennis varsity scholarship. He got his diploma from Pepperdine University.
Niño did not start a star. He has to toil his way up. He started playing at the age of six, prodded on by his parents, Francis, now deceased, and Sarah, both my contemporaries in the university. He first started his training at the Nazareth Tennis courts in Cagayan de Oro under coach Izon Autentico, to whom he is always grateful.
At the age of eleven, the Philippine tennis grand patron, Rommie Chan, invited him to stay in his house at Alabang, Metro Manila, to be honed further by coaches Kenneth Salvo and Jun Toledo of the Philippine Tennis Academy. In his junior tennis career, his highest rank was 14 in the world.
It was however in the United States as a varsity scholar that he underwent world class tennis training. At one time, Niño recalled that he had to vomit when he was made to run the stadium from down up and vice-versa. His exposure in the NCAA Division 1 league in the United States elevated his tennis further. He played with the future world tennis superstars and yet he prevailed mostly in his doubles event.
After graduating from college, Niño went professional. Thanks to his main sponsor Peugeot, his expenses in the ITF tour are covered. At first he played singles and doubles in the tour. His successes though in doubles prompted him to focus in this category. He hopes to land in the top 100 in the world doubles ranking so he can play in the money tournaments in ATP. He said it is in ATP tour where the real money is.
Now a mainstay as team captain in the Philippine Davis Cup, Niño trains his sights in the 2020 Olympic games where he hopes to partner with highly-ranked doubles player in the world, the Fil-Am Treat Huey. But he has to be ranked 200 in the world to qualify for the Olympics.
Niño is a template for the Philippine tennis. His education did not take a backseat while he honed his tennis skills. If not for his busy training schedules, he would have still landed an academic scholarship. Despite his stellar tennis career, Niño is still humble at heart, and still mingles with the ballboys of Nazareth tennis club where he played tennis using only paddles.
His father died when he was still ten years old, but am sure my good friend, Francis, is smiling in heaven since his first born son is the role model for Philippine tennisters : tennis champion, welleducated, well-grounded to his roots and a pleasant personality.