Pantino rebounds in Phinma-PSC tennis

Last Sunday, Cebuano netter Arthur Craig Pantino needed just a single victory to claim his first singles trophy this year in International Tennis Federation (ITF)-sanctioned tournaments.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go in favor of the former University of San Carlos (USC) ace as he lost to Shunsuke Mitsui, 6-3. 6-3, in the championship round of the Phinma-PSC International Juniors 1 held at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City.

But the 16-year-old Pantino knows that he can’t change what’s already happened but instead try to redeem himself from the setback.

Yesterday, he did just that as he defeated Chun Jui Kung, 6-2, 6-1, to advance to the second round of the Phinma-PSC International Juniors 2 still at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City.

With the victory, Pantino will be going up against Hongkong’s Marvin Lee, who eliminated Marco Ayala of the Philippines, 6-1, 6-1, in the first round.

While Pantino kept his bid for the crown alive, it was the opposite for former University of the Visayas netter Rucel Cero, who exited the first round after losing to Darrshan Suresh of Malaysia, 7-5, 6-3.