by Moses Billacura
DATEC president Col. Palawan Macadindang and Philta 11-B regional director Engr. Carol Angel have been busy for the last six months.
All for the love of tennis. I repeat, all for the love of the game of tennist.
Events were organized at the Banaybanay Tennis Club in Davao Oriental, the Milo Children’s Tennis Workshop was successfully held at the Ecoland Tennis Center, and the Cebuana Lhuillier Age-Group Tournaments went smoothly at the Eco 2 Tennis Clubl.
The Nxt Gen Prince Age-Group Tennis Championship was a big success in Tagum City, the 2nd Powerade-Coca Cola Tournament also finished with a big bang.
Discussions were done with top tennis officials in Manila for more possible tennis development work in Southern Mindanao through the DATEC Tennis Academy Foundation.
The Foundation has been reaching out to young boys and girls for them to get into tennis for free which is very remarkable.
Philta coach Tom Falcis flew in from Manila to hold an officiating and coaching seminar for DATEC-member clubs with the help of sponsors like Rommie Chan, Felcris Supermarket, USEP, Uraya Land, Davao Light and Power Co., Councilors Arnulfo Cabling and Myrna Dalodo-Ortiz, P.L.Sebastian Construction, Sy Bee Trading, among others.
Philta president Edwin L. Olivarez, for sure, at this time would think very deeply that Engr. Angel, Col. Macadindang and DATEC are indeed the true developers of the sport.
Oh, I understand the tennis politics in Manila that affected Southern Mindanao. Result, there are two tennis regional directors in Southern Mindanao. For tennis to thrive well in this part of the country, there should be only one regional director and that’s should be Engr. Angel. She’s an angel, believe me. And you will be always in good hands.
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After Rafa Nadal lost in the elimination round, I was no longer very excited to watch the Rogers Cup in Montreal.
My wife Marjorie was the most excited lady on earth. Holy molly! Her crush Novak Djokovic of Serbia was on a roll and eventually topped the men’s tournament by beating the gallant American Mardy Fish.
Novak’s quarterfinal was disappointing though as Gael Monfils of France was just having a nice time playing with the world’s no.1 player. Novak was visibly all serious in a way to prove that he is indeed the best player today. The semis was another disappointment when another Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga did not finish the match and surprisingly quit. For that, he was booed.
An English lady commented that they just simply gave up which was not expected from them being professional tennis players. Fans buy expensive tickets, spend money for hotel, food and transportation just to watch them play. Only to be disappointed when professional players don’t play their best to the finish.
Anyway, what impressed me was how Tennis Canada successfully organized the tournament starting with venue preparation, recruitment of volunteers up to the setting up of exciting side games outside the National Bank and Center courts. Very impressive indeed. Ticket holders enjoy a free ride to the UniPrix Stadium and back to downtown Montreal, an added bonus that would, for sure, keep fans attending the next Rogers Cup.
And hopefully, the players, especially those in the top rankings, would take the Rogers Cup in Montreal seriously, for the sake of the fans.
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Happy birthday to auntie Grace, long-time friends Bong Laureano and Rina Freires.
