Cebu City’s Arthur Craig Pantino stumbled in his bid to secure a seat in the semifinal round of the Indonesia ATF Under-14 Series tennis tournament last Thursday in Jakarta, Indonesia.
This after the Cebuano suffered a stunning 2-6, 2-6 loss to qualifier Rifqy Sukma Ramadhan Sumiarsa of Indonesia in the quarterfinal round at the Kemayoran Tennis Center.
But Pantino, fondly called “Iggy,” has a chance to gain points in the ATF tilt as he is fighting for the fifth spot that still carries corresponding points.
The Cebuano ace needs to at least barge into the top 5 spot in the ATF rankings in order to earn a slot to the Asian Team that will see action in Europe next year. Currently, Pantino is ranked no. 12 in the ATF standings.
Sumiarsa, who continued his giant-killing ways, will now face Rafli Feby Putra Tri Prasetyo in the semifinal round after the latter blasted sixth-seed Yusuke Tamaki, 6-3, 6-2.
DOUBLES CHAMPS
Pantino, however, won’t go home without a trophy as he and Naufal Siddiq Kamaruzzaman trounced the pair of Daniel and Joshua Gunawan in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, to win the 14-under doubles crown.
Pantino, a double titlist in the 19th JRG Gullas Cup age group tennis tournament here in Cebu, waylaid qualifier Mohamad Irzad Shazurin Sulaini of Indonesia in the second round, 6-3, 6-2, to make it to the round of 16 before his loss.
Pantino, once cited as the “most talented CITCI Member Junior Tennis Trainee” when he was still 10 years old, also saw action in the Sarawak 10th ATF Asian 14U Series 2014 last October at the Razmee Rawi, Kuching, Malaysia.