By Kristel Satumbaga
Francis Casey Alcantara and Jeson Patrombon survived the more experienced Treat Huey and Ruben Gonzales Jr. 7-6 (2), 7-5 to capture the men’s doubles gold medal in the 30th Southeast Asian Games tennis competition at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
Francis Alcantara, right, hits the ball as teammate Jeson Patrombon looks on during the soft tennis doubles in the 30th Southeast Asian Games at Rizal Memorial Tennis Center, Dec. 7, 2019. (MB Photo / Rio Leonelle Deluvio / Canon 5D Mark IV with 70-200mm f2.8 lens)
Alcantara and Patrombon, both former top local junior champions, grinded it all out after training 5-3 in the opening set to sustain the momentum going to their first SEAG gold medal.
Huey and Gonzales, the top seed in the field, settled for silver.
“Unbelievable feeling,” said Alcantara. “They’re (Huey and Gonzales) great players. They’re our teammates in the Davis Cup, but it just feels good to win the gold for the first time.”
In the 2017 Kuala Lumpur edition, Alcantara teamed up with Gonzales and settled for the men’s double silver.
“I think it’s a start of a great partnership,” said Alcantara, a native of Cagayan de Oro.
Though up against teammates, Patrombon admitted nerves got into him.
“First time din kasi naming mag-finals kaya may konting kaba rin sa simula,” the Iligan native said.
Alcantara couldn’t imagine that he finally achieved his dreams of winning the gold medal, recalling that he wanted to be part of the national team while watching the 2005 Manila SEAG then topbilled by Cecil Mamiit and Eric Taino.
Unseeded in the tournament, Alcantara and Patrombon never dropped a set with victories over Timor Leste’s Patricio Jose Ferreira and Antonio Mendes, 6-1, 6-1; third seed David and Anthony Susanto of Indonesia, 6-4, 6-0; and Vietnam’s Daniel Cao Nguyen and Van Phuong Nguyen, 6-3, 6-1.
The Philippine team ended the biennial meet with one gold and one silver, surpassing its two silver and two bronze medal haul in 2017.
Source: Manila Bulletin
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