By: Leobert Julian A.de la Peña
Jeson Patrombon and Francis Alcantara prevailed against compatriots Treat Huey and Ruben Gonzales in an all-Filipino Tennis doubles finals, 7-6, 7-5, in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
The match seemed like a “passing of the torch” as Huey, the top-ranked doubles player in the country, and Gonzales, a PH tennis pool veteran and played in the previous SEA Games, bowed down to the more athletic and younger Patrombon and Alcantara.
The more experienced pair of Huey and Gonzales gave early problems to the opposing pair, as they controlled the net in the early minutes of the match.
Going into the middle set, Patrombon and Alcantara began to connect with their 1-2 punch, a strong service followed by a finishing smash in the net.
The power and the quickness the winning pair showed was inhumane, including a series of hard-won rallies in the net.
With the win, Patrombon and Alcantara inked their names in the history books as the only Filipino pair who won the men’s doubles gold medal since 1991.
