PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — Tennis standouts Kathlyn Bugna and Athena Liwag reaffirmed their status as the brightest junior stars in Philippine tennis after splitting Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors with twin-title romps in the Palawan Pawnshop–Pera Padala (PPS) Puerto Princesa National Junior Championships held at the Karawatan–La Paragua Sports Complex.
Bugna, the La Carlota City/Batang Onay ace, made a rousing comeback from a brief break, sweeping both the girls’ 16- and 18-and-under singles crowns. She overwhelmed Liwag, 6-1, 6-2, in the 16-and-U finals before routing top seed Claire Casiller, 6-1, 6-2, in the 18-and-U title match.
Liwag, representing Olongapo City, also came up big, ruling the 12- and 14-and-under divisions to match Bugna’s two-title haul and share the MVP award. She dominated Maria Calingasan, 6-2, 6-0, in the 12-and-U finals, then clinched the 14-and-U title after Bugna retired while trailing, 0-1.
Bugna and Liwag later extended their dominance to the doubles court — Bugna teaming with Sofia Aguilera for the girls’ 18-and-U crown, and Liwag pairing with Teresinha Calingasan to capture the 16-and-U title.
In the boys’ division, Rafa Monte de Ramos of Lipa City mirrored their feat with victories in the 16-and-U and 18-and-U categories, beating Aljhon Rombawa via a 1-0 (ret.) win and overpowering Nicholas Andal, 6-2, 6-1, in the centerpiece division.
Cristiano Calingasan of Bataan triumphed in the 14-and-U event after defeating Enzo Masaga, 6-1, 2-0 (ret.), while Francis Angeles of Quezon City swept the 12-and-U (7-5, 6-3) and 10-and-U unisex (4-2, 4-1) titles for his own twin triumph.
Meanwhile, in the men’s side, Sebastian Santos capped off the week with a triple crown — routing Mingoy Calingasan, 8-2, in the singles finals, then teaming with Andre Santos to rule the men’s doubles (8-4) and with Rodel Ubay for the pro-am doubles victory./PN
