18th Gullas Tennis Cup organizers to bring back 21-Under category

COLLEGE netters who are no longer eligible to play in the 18-Under category but are not yet ready to vie in the Men’s and Women’s categories can now compete in the 18th Gullas Tennis Cup as the netfest brings back the 21-Under division this year.

The event is slated from April 11 to 15 at the Cebu International Tennis Centre Inc. in Laray, Consolacion, Cebu. It is the third of big national tournaments that will be held here in Cebu along with the 14th Philta Tru-Flex National Age-Group event on April 1-6 and the Milo Junior Tennis Cup on April 8-10.

With the re-introduction of the 21-Under class, the netfest, considered as one of the country’s longest-running tennis events, is expected to gather more participants. Last year, the Gullas Cup gathered 196 netters.

University of the Visayas (UV) executive vice president Jose “Dodong” Gullas said that when they started the event back in 1995, all he asked tournament organizer John Pages is to continue this sports development undertaking.

“We can continue to develop the young Filipinos to be more active in sports,” Gullas said during yesterday’s press conference held at the UV Foreign Lounge and attended by UV VP for external affairs Atty. Joseph Baduel, Pages, tournament referee Fritz Tabura and Swedish coach Tommy Frederiksen.

The tournament has indeed, over the years, produced some members of the national team such as Fritzgerald Tabura and Francis Largo, according to Tabura.

Pages said that now is the perfect timing to bring back the 21-Under category as it will cater to a lot of college and varsity netters.

With the return of the 21-Under, the tournament is expected to attract the Siso siblings—Bernardine, Sally Dine and Sally Mae and Israel Abarquez, among others.

Aside from trailblazing a new category, the Gullas Cup will also continue the tradition of giving out a shirt for every participant and holding a welcome dinner for them to show that tennis is not only about competition but also about friendship.

Organizers are also mulling holding a mixed doubles category aside from the usual singles and doubles events.

Registration fee is pegged at P300 per participant with the registration sites to be announced next week. /CORRESPONDENT MARS G. ALISON