Balce, Rivera trounce Phinma rivals

Fifth seed Maia Balce and wild card Shaira Hope Rivera bundled out their respective rivals in emphatic fashions even as Week 1 champion Khim Iglupas continued to dish out top form as the local bets cruised to the second round of the girls’ side in the PSC-Phinma International Juniors Tennis Championships Week 2 at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center yesterday.

Balce, who fell in ambush right in the opener of Week 1 of the Grade 4 ITF tournament sponsored by Phinma Group of Companies and the Philippine Sports Commission, toughened herself up this time and got past Thai Parima Leenabanchong, 6-1, 6-3, to set up a duel with Japanese Hirami Sato, who dumped Korean Hyeran Yun.

Rivera, the ace from Compostela Valley and one of the mainstays of the Philippine Tennis Academy headed by Rommie Chan, Oscar Hilado and Jean Henri Lhuillier with Jun Toledo as coach, likewise made up for her first round exit last week as she crushed Japan’s Sachiho Sho, 6-1, 6-2, to advance against Chinese Wang Xin Yu, who stunned No. 8 Joleta Budiman of Indonesia, 6-2, 6-1.

Iglupas, teammate of Rivera at the PTA along with boys’ campaigners John Bryan Otico and Arthur Pantino, also rolled to a 6-1, 6-2 win over Nagomi Higashitani of Japan for a clash with another Japanese in Sakura Yonehara, who eased past Korean Lee Han Byeol, 6-2, 6-2, in the tournament backed by Mariposa Foundation, Dunlop Fort All Court Balls and Orchids Garden Suites.

Top seed Ayumi Miyamoto, who Iglupas beat in the semis en route to retaining the Week 1 crown of the event sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association headed by president and Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez with Wannait Srirasa of Thailand as ITF supervisor and Loida Mallare as tournament director, posted one of the day’s two shutout wins, beating Yuelin Chen of Taiwan to arrange a showdown with Japanese Risa Fukutoku, who held off local bet Monica Cruz, 6-1, 6-4.