MANILA -- Cebuano Arthur Craig Pantino won his second-round match on Thursday to lead two other Filipinos into the boys' singles quarterfinals of the Phinma-PSC International Juniors 1 at the Manila Polo Club indoor clay court.
The second-ranked Pantino defeated Japanese Nowa Matsubayashi, 6-0, 6-2, to forge a quarterfinal showdown with another Japanese, Ryota Ishii, who scored a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Filipino Matthew Garcia.
Fifth seed Michael Francis Eala and wild card Jose Antonio Tria also hurdled their respective opponents in the Grade 4 event sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation and organized by the Philippine Tennis Association.
Eala downed Japanese Kei Manaka, 6-3, 6-2, to advance against fourth seed Indonesian Odeda Muhammad Arazza, who rallied past Filipino Justin Suarez, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-3.
Tria, on the other hand, prevailed over Taiwanese Kung Chun Jui, 6-1, 6-2, to arrange a quarterfinal meeting with third seed Japanese Taiyo Yamanaka, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Singaporean Justin Oeni.
Meanwhile, top seed Japanese Shunsuke Mitsui beat American Jericho Grollman, 6-2, 6-1, to advance against No. 6 Malaysian Shamirul Shahril Modh Adam Das, who pulled off a 6-2, 6-0 win over Japanese Mikihisa Matsuzaki.
In the boys' doubles category, the top-seeded pair of Pantino and Eala outplayed Hong Kong's Man San Chan and Singapore's Oeni, 6-1, 6-3, to reach the semifinal round.
The Filipino tandem will be up against Japan's Matsubayashi and Malaysia's Mohd Adam Das, who won over Laotian Phathikone Kanyaphan and Japanese Mikihisa Matsuzaki, 6-0, 6-1.
The other semifinal match will pit third seeds Taiyo Yamanaka and Manaka of Japan against Filipino Manuel Balce III and American Jericho Grollman.
Yamanaka and Manaka defeated Filipino pair Justin Suarez and Joseph Gabriel Tiamson, 6-7 (9), 6-3 [10-6], while Balce and Grollman eliminated second seeds Odeda Muhammad Arazza of Indonesia and Darrshan Suresh of Malaysia, 6-2, 7-6 (2).
In the girls' singles category, Filipino Melanie Faye Dizon outclassed compatriot Virvienica Isearis Bejosano, 6-0, 6-2, to reach the quarterfinal round.
Dizon's next match will be against No. 2 Australian Lisa Mays, who won over Chinese Li Jingyi, 6-3, 6-1.
Also advancing to the quarterfinal round were No. 4 Lin Wing Na of Hong Kong, Americans Nicole Hammond, Aesha Patel and Elizabeth Stevens, Japanese Saki Oyama and Chinese Tian Fangram. (PNA)
