Soft tennis makes debut as regular sport in 2011 SEA Games

Soft tennis will be played as a regular Category II sport in next month's Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) in Palembang, Indonesia. The four-day tournament, slate from November 17 to 21, will be held at the newly-built Jakabaring Sports Complex. Soft tennis, a racket sport played with a rubber ball, will be finally played in the SEA Games and the Asian Games. It was also played in this year's Philippine Olympic Committee (POC)-Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) National Games in Bacolod City. The Philippine men's and women's soft tennis teams ranked fifth in Asia and share the No. 1 spot in Southeast Asia with Indonesia after both countries bagged three gold medals each in the recent 2011 SEA Soft Tennis Federation (SEASTF) Open in Laos. The members of the Philippine team are Sonny Noguit, Joseph and Jhomar Arcilla, Mikoff Manduriao, Jopy Mamawal, Divine Escala, Cheryl Macasera, Deena Rose Cruz, Bien Zoleta and Josephine Paguio. National mentor Jovy Mamawal was appointed as the technical delegate by the Asian Soft Tennis Federation (ASTF) while Michael Enriquez will coach the Philippine team in Palembang. San Sebastian College sports director Frank Gusi is the team manager. The Philippine team is currently competing in the Palembang Test Event from October 14 to 16. They will head to Mungyeong, Korea for the World Championships slated from October 27 to November 3, 2011. — JVP, GMA News