Espinosa-Manduriao settles for silver

CEBUANA netter Hanna Espinosa and Manila City’s Erika Manduriao absorbed a gut-wrenching defeat at the hands of Edilyn Balanga and Marinel Rudas, 6-3, 7-5, in the women’s doubles finals of the Peugeot Philippine Tennis Open Regional Qualifiers yesterday in Cabanatuan City.

Espinosa and Manduriao were off to a hot start after trampling the pair of Macy Gonzales and Kendies Malinis, 6-2, 7-6 (1), in the semifinals.

The finals was also a close-battle with neither team giving an inch but the duo of Balanga and De La Salle University (DLSU) netter Rudas proved too hot to handle en route to the straight-set win.

After the Cabanatuan City tournament, action will shift to Cebu City on Jan. 9-15 for the penultimate leg of the regional qualifiers.