Padilla beats Asuncion in men’s 4.5 finals

Memorial Day was a memorable day for Lope Padilla, as the veteran netter survived Mother Nature’s rain showers and the spryness of a much younger Richard Asuncion to win the men’s 4.5 finals of the 2008 DFS Micronesian Championships.

In the men’s open, the CNMI’s top netter Ji Hoon Heo didn’t even have to come to the Pacific Islands Club tennis courts as his final opponent, Jeff Race, begged off from their match because of illness.

The championships of the women’s open and men’s 4.0, meanwhile, were rained out and James Camacho and Gabriel Boyer and Vivien Lee and Mayuko Arriola would have to find time today to conclude their title matches.

Luckily for Padilla, Mother Nature was an ally as it zapped whatever momentum Asuncion marshaled in the second set when the two renewed their battle following a 30-minute rain delay.

Before the clouds opened up, Asuncion had forced a third and deciding set following a masterful 6-3 win over Padilla in the second. This, after his opponent outlasted him in the opening set, 6-4.

While Padilla was visibly rejuvenated by the half-hour break, Asuncion came out of it without the spunk, timing, and consistency he showed in the second set.

Nonetheless, Asuncion would get the first game in the third for a 1-0 lead. But that was it for him, as Padilla ran rings around him in capturing the next six games to win the clincher, 6-1.

In the men’s doubles 3.0, Dodong Salinas got the better of Dong Ik Jang, 6-2, 6-2, to raise the championship trophy.

J.W. Jang, meanwhile, emerged as the men’s 40-and-over champion after beating Boyer, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, in the round-robin finals.

Dinalet Jones joined the winners’ circle after exacting Jodell Fernandez a 6-3, 6-2 beating in their women’s 3.0/2.0 finals.

In doubles competition, Heo teamed up with Cody Race to win the boys’ 16-and-under following a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Calvin Yang and Woo Suk Chang.

Clay McCullogh-Stearns and Jake Lee reigned supreme in the boys’ 12-and-under after winning a tough three-setter over Christian Miller and Tommy Choi, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

The tandem of Mikayla Lopez and Kris Obaldo, meanwhile, raised the girls’ 12-and-under trophy after a hard-earned 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 win over Gabrielle Race and Neghar Rastguiy.