Short on target, RP netters still proud of medal harvest

Although it fell short of its gold target in the 25th Laos Southeast Asian Games in Vientiane, the Philippine tennis team still feels proud of their accomplishment.

The Filipino netters capped their campaign in the biennial meet Friday with the men’s singles gold courtesy of Cecil Mamiit, who turned back Treat Huey in the all-Filipino final, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 at the National Sports Complex. It was the third straight men’s singles gold for Mamiit in the biennial meet. In all, the RP netters bagged two gold, three silver and five bronze medals to finish runner-up behind powerhouse Thailand’s (four gold haul). "It was a mission accomplished for us," team manager Randy Villanueva said. “We may fell short of winning our initial target which is five (gold medals), but some of our losses were merely by a hairline. The guys did a good job and all of them delivered." "At least we won the gold medal in tennis’ most important event — the men’s singles and men’s team," Villanueva said. “We have nothing to be ashamed of. We have overachieved." The tennis official is also proud of the fact that two Filipinos disputed the gold in the men’s singles. "I guess, it’s the first time for two Filipinos to play in the finals," Villanueva said. “It was an all-out war. Both Cecil and Treat wanted to win the gold (medal) without thinking that they belong on the same team." "Cecil displayed the character of the team. He is a winner and he wants to win it for the country." It was the second gold for Mamiit as his partnership with Huey earned them the squad’s first mint in the men’s team category. The tandem of Riza Zalameda and Denise Dy, meanwhile, settled for the silver medal in the distaff side. – GMANews.TV