Ma. Carmencita Carlos (far left) and Alexandra Eala (second from left) pose with the Japanese players before their doubles match on Thursday (April 5, 2018). (Photo courtesy of Michael Francis Eala)
MANILA -- The Philippines missed another opportunity to advance to the Under-14 World Juniors Tennis Championships (WJTC) after losing to Japan in the quarterfinals of the Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying event at the National Tennis Development Center in Nonthaburi, Thailand on Thursday.
Alexandra Eala defeated Kyoka Kubo, 6-2, 6-7 (2), 6-3 after 2 hours and 28 minutes in the first singles match to give the Philippines a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three tie.
But Japan fought back, with Ayaka Koga scoring a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Ma. Carmencita Carlos in the second singles to level the score at 1-1. Kubo teamed up with Pete Komada to beat Eala and Carlos in the doubles, 6-1, 6-7 (9), 10-5.
Japan will join the other semifinalists -- Chinese Taipei, China and Thailand -- in the WJTC, which will be hosted by the Czech Republic in August.
Chinese Taipei prevailed over Australia (2-1), China downed South Korea (2-0), and Thailand outclassed New Zealand (2-0) in the quarterfinal round.
Japan and Chinese Taipei will dispute the first final berth while China and Thailand will fight for the second final slot. The losing semifinalists will face each other for third place.
The Philippines will face Australia while South Korea will take on New Zealand in the play-offs for fifth to eighth places.
Meanwhile, Malaysia will meet Indonesia and India will face Hong Kong in the play-offs for ninth to 12th places.
Malaysia defeated Sri Lanka, 2-1, to advance against Indonesia, a 2-0 winner over Lebanon, while India outplayed Uzbekistan, 2-1, to forge a showdown with Hong Kong, a 2-1 winner over Kazakhstan.
Sri Lanka will go up against Lebanon while Uzbekistan will battle Kazakhstan, with the winners facing each other for the battle for 13th and 14th places. The losers, on the other hand, will meet in another tie for 15th and 16th places.
The 16 teams were divided into four groups during the elimination round. The four teams in each group played round-robin, with the top two advancing to the quarterfinal round.
Chinese Taipei topped Group A with three wins followed by South Korea (2-1), Malaysia (1-2) and Hong Kong (0-3), while Thailand led Group B after sweeping all its assignment, followed by the Philippines (2-1), Kazakhstan (1-2) and Lebanon (0-3).
In Group C, China has a 3-0 record followed by Australia (2-1), Indonesia (1-2) and Sri Lanka (0-3), while in Group D, Japan has three wins, followed by New Zealand (2-1), Indonesia (1-2) and Uzbekistan (0-3). (PNA)
