Loyola, Heo rule men’s open

The one-two punch of former collegiate standout Peter Loyola and youngster Ji Hoon Heo was just too much to handle in the men’s doubles open of the 2nd Annual Toyota Tennis Tournament, as the dynamic duo fought off a slow start to emerge as champions Tuesday night at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.

Arriving earlier than their opponents and about a half an hour before their scheduled start, Loyola and Heo had the advantage of working up a good sweat.

The two then tangoed with last year’s runner-up team Daniel Son and Lito Cabrera, who jumped out to the early lead, taking three of the first four games in the first set courtesy of Son’s powerful service and Cabrera’s deft touch at the net.

Loyola and Heo managed to inch closer, making it 2-4, but Son and Cabrera quickly retaliated and took the next game for a 5-2 lead.

Loyola and Heo came back and made a good run to make it 3-5, but that was their final push of the set as Son and Cabrera executed well to wrap up the opening set.

Loyola switched places with Heo, beginning in the second, preferring the forehand side to save his surgically repaired right forearm, which was starting to hurt because of the unusually cold evening.

The ploy apparently worked as Loyola and Heo grabbed the upper hand early, going up 3-1.

The two teams traded blows, splitting the next four games before Son and Cabrera sliced the deficit to a game, 4-5.

Loyola and Heo, however, played to their strengths by mixing up the match with lobs and off-pace passing shots and were eventually able to knot the set-count at one apiece.

Loyola and Heo carried their momentum to the third set and jumped out again to a 3-1 lead. They eventually worked to a 5-3 advantage before Son and Cabrera gave another strong charge, breaking Loyola’s serve to cut the gap to 4-5.

With the game on the balance and Loyola feeling worse, the cagey veteran gave his youthful partner a helpful tip, digging deep down his bag of tricks by instructing Heo to mimic him by bouncing up and down in an effort to distract Son’s service.

It worked. And with the match at championship breakpoint, Son made a critical double fault to hand the match and the championship to Loyola and Heo 3-6, 6-9, 6-4.

“Ji Hoon was nervous in the first set and I told him to just calm down and play his game. I told him to be aggressive and he settled down and was able to play better in the second set. My forearm was also hurting pretty well and that’s why we made a decision to exchange places at the start of the second. We also tried to mix it up, knowing too well that our opponents are used to the power game,” said Loyola.

Meanwhile, singles action in the men’s 3.0 category kicked off, with five players earning quarterfinals tickets.

Aramis Dailo looked sharp, taking the first set 6-2 and going up 1-0 in the second set against Gary Ramsey before Ramsey retired, while Yesman Gurung defeated Mario Buensuceso in straight sets, 7-5, 6-2.

For their part, Ruben Leynes and Ramon Angeles were taken to the limit before pulling through, with Leynes beating Roy Banados 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 6-1 and Angeles topping Joe Motto Jr. 6-0, 4-6, 6-2.

Boy Cruz also advanced after slipping past Noel Manalang in three sets 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.