Philta 4th leg: Barquin bags twin crowns

THIRD seed Rodolfo Barquin and unranked Valerie Jan Desoyo dominated their respective divisions in the fourth leg of the PhiltaPalawan Pawnshop Regional age-group tennis tournament in La Carlota City, Negros Occidental, yesterday.

Barquin toppled Carl Catedral twice— 6-1, 6-2 in the 18-and-under finals and 6-1, 6-3 in the 16-U class.

On the other hand, Desoyo stunned second seed Kiani De Asis, 6-1, 6-1, to cop the girls’ 12-U crown before blanking Bliss Bayking, 6-0, 6-0, in the 14-U championship.

Keanu Flores and Toni Rose Raymundo, meanwhile, split the top two titles in girls’ play of the event presented by Palawan Pawnshop through chief operating officer Bobby Castro.

Flores recovered from a set down to pull off a 3-6, 6-4, 11-9 victory in the 16-U finals while Raymundo hacked out a 6-4, 3-6, 1513 triumph in the 18-U championship backed by Technosports, exclusive distributor of Babolat, headed by Guillermo Nocom.

Top seed Karl Baran turned back Adrian Dehertogh, 4-6, 6-3, 10-7, to capture the boys’ 14-U plum while Reynan Mahusay took the 12-U crown with a 6-1, 6-2 conquest of Xynel Van Datorin.

Alejandro Enzo Carlo overpowered Raphael Seballos, 6- 1, 6- 2, to pocket the 10- unisex diadem in the event sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association.

Meanwhile, Bacolod will host the fifth leg on Feb. 14 to 18 for the last leg of the first Visayan swing.

Action then shifts into full gear on March 1 to 17 for the Olivarez-Philta Open age group, intercollegiate and interclub championships at Olivarez Sports Center in Sucat, Parañaque.