MANILA -- The Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) has tapped the services of Johnny Arcilla for the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group 2 semifinal round tie against Thailand next week.
The tie (two singles and one doubles matches) will be played at the Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) clay courts in Paco, Manila from April 7-8.
Arcilla and teammates Francis Casey Alcantara, Jeson Patrombon, Albert "AJ" Lim Jr. and John Bryan Decasa Otico are hoping to use their home court advantage to beat the Thais and move a step the closer to a World Group promotion.
The Philippines has remained in Group 2 after absorbing a 0-5 loss to Thailand in their semifinal encounter held at the National Tennis Development Centre in Nonthaburi last year.
If the Philippines wins next week, it will advance to the final round where it will face the winner between Lebanon and Hong Kong, which are also scheduled to play on April 7-8 in Lebanon.
Thailand has a formidable line-up bannered by Ratiwatana twins Sonchai and Sonchat, the reigning Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) men's doubles gold medalists. Sonchai is the world's No. 105 doubles player while Sonchat is ranked No. 122.
The other members of the Thai squad are SEAG singles gold winner Jirat Navasirisomboon; men's singles bronze medalist Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul and Palaphon Kovapitukted. Team captain is Weerapat Doakmaiklee.
"We are hoping for the best," said Philippine team non-playing captain Cris Cuarto in an interview on Thursday.
"The new format (best of three sets) favor us, it's different when you play five sets. We also have a complete line-up, there are those for singles and others for doubles," Cuarto added.
Arcilla said he is more than willing to play for the country again. His last stint in the Davis Cup was in 2014.
"I am honored to be a part of the Davis Cup team," said the 38-year-old Arcilla, who has won 17 singles and 10 doubles matches since he debuted in the Davis Cup in 2000.
"I am thankful to Philta president Atty. Antonio Cablitas for choosing me to be a part of the team. Also, I am happy that Nino (Alcantara) wants me as doubles partner," said Arcilla, who has won eight singles titles in the PCA Open.
Alcantara and Lim both welcomed the return of Arcilla, who also serves as national juniors’ coach.
"I'm happy for him (Arcilla) to be back in the team," said Alcantara, who joined the team practice last Monday after arriving from Bahrain, where he reached the doubles quarterfinal of a USD15,000 Futures tournament.
Before heading to Bahrain, Alcantara has played three tournaments in Qatar (one semis and two quarterfinal finishes) to improve his world's doubles ranking to No. 371.
“I'm glad that Kuya Johnny is with us in this Davis Cup tie. I'm pretty sure he's gonna be a key part of our success for this tie," said Lim, who won his second straight Most Valuable Player trophy after leading the University of the East to back-to-back titles in the Universities Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) two weeks ago.
The Philippines, represented by Alcantara, Lim, Patrombon, Otico and Jurence Mendoza, won over host Indonesia, 4-1, in the quarterfinal round last February to forge a semifinal showdown with Thailand, which has defeated Sri Lanka, 3-2, at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association in Colombo.
Mendoza is a member of the Oklahoma State University Cowboys while Otico is the reigning PCA Open singles champion.
The Philippines is 4-3 against Thailand in their overall head-to-head record. The Philippines' last victory over Thailand (4-1) was in 2013 during the semifinal round held in Cebu City. (PNA)
