WITH only a few months left in the season, Cebuano racquet-wielder Arthur Craig Pantino is poised to end the year as the topranked Philippine Tennis Association (PHILTA) player in the boys 16-under division.
That is because the 15-year old Pantino has a commanding lead in the PHILTA rankings released last August with 3,775 points. Manuel Balce III and Jose Maria Pague are in second and third spots with 1,357.5 and 1,280 points, respectively.
His impressive performances in International Tennis Federation (ITF) events capped by a runner up finish in Vietnam last Aug. 4 earned him 3,300 points, which is the the second most points scored by a Filipino in an ITF tourney this year, behind Alberto Lim’s 14,145 points.
Ironically, Pantino hasn’t been performing well in local tournaments, finishing at 23rd place with a dismal 475 points.
Another Cebuano in the top ten of the 16-under boys class is Naga City’s Marc Nicole Suson who is in joint sixth place alongside Matt Palasan with 1,140 points.
In the distaff side, Carcar Cebu’s Elizabeth Abarquez remained in third place with 1,200 markers, just a few points behind top-ranked Carlyn Guarde and Patricia Velez who accumulated 1,255 and 1,220 points, respectively.