EALA SEALS ALL-PH SEMIS SHOWDOWNS

An all-Filipino affair came to fore as top seed Miko Eala bested sixth seed Jan Yunseok of South Korea, 6-4, 6-3, leading three other Filipinos to the boys singles semifinals of the CPSP-Philta International Junior Tennis Championships at Philippine Columbian Association.

Eala, older brother of Filipino junior hotshot Alex Eala, will challenge compatriot Jose Maria Pague, who also advanced following an impressive 6-2, 6-1 triumph over seventh-seed Naufal Kamaruzzamal.

Aljon Talatayod outlasted fellow homegrown campaigner Nio Tria, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2, to also make it to the last four in the meet organized by the Philippine Tennis Association.

He will take on Marcus Del Rosario, who upset second seed Tim Thomas Gauntlett of Hong Kong, 6-3, 6-2.

Of the four, Talatayod garnered much attention after defeating Australian fourth seed Kelvin Du (3-6, 6-2, 6-4) and Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yu-shiang (6-3, 6-3).