MANILA – Kathlyn Bugna continued to showcase her dominance in the junior tennis circuit, capturing another impressive triple-title finish at the Lapu-Lapu City National Junior Tennis Championships in Cebu.
Displaying relentless form in her province-hopping campaign for tennis glory, the Negrense Bugna stunned top seed Nadine Seno with a commanding 6-2, 6-0 victory to rule the 14-and-under category.
Building on that momentum, the La Carlota City-Batang Onay standout clinched the girls’ 16-and-under championship as well after dismantling Theriz Zapatos in two sets, 6-2, 6-2.
The back-to-back championships mirrored her earlier success in the MAC’s Crankit tournament, where she triumphed in multiple legs, including Iloilo, Bacolod, Roxas and Kalibo.
Bugna completed a remarkable triple crown by teaming up with Zapatos to seize the girls’ 14-and-U doubles title.
Bugna’s latest MVP title further solidified her status as the most promising junior talent in the country’s longest-running tennis series – the PPS-PEPP circuit – spearheaded by Palawan Pawnshop president/CEO Bobby Castro.
Meanwhile, in the boys’ division, fourth-seeded Andrian Rodriguez emerged victorious in the 16-and-U category, edging Robert Laña in a grueling three-set finale, 7-6(6), 0-6, 7-5.
In other results, Kenji Kue of Quezon City took the boys’ 14-and-U title with a hard-fought 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 win over Phine Billones; Blaze Sotto of Siquijor defeated Blake Aroma, 6-2, 6-4, to claim the boys’ 12-and-U crown; Joshua Ausan from Aklan held off Francis Jopia, 4-2, 5-3, in the 10-and-U unisex division;
Mae Parangan of Balamban, Cebu, captured the girls’ 18-and-U title by beating Atila Deocampo, 6-4, 6-0; while Seno bounced back from her earlier loss to Bugna by dominating the girls’ 12-and-U finals, defeating Loren Nocos, 6-1, 6-2.
Billones and Ciaran Alipo-On secured the boys’ doubles crown in the 14-and-under division, and in the girls’ 18-and-U doubles, Atila Deocampo and Besper Zapatos triumphed, while Vincent and Anthony Espinosa claimed the boys’ title./PN
