By: Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Bethoven Crescencio of the University of San Jose- Recoletos, Cebu, capped off his valiant effort to complete his comeback against Onirel John Estoque of the University of San Agustin, Iloilo, 7-7 (7-1) in the 2019 Augustinian Schools Athletic Meet.
USA’s Estoque came in hot, winning the majority of their power rallies and was able to neutralize Crescencio’s good groundstrokes, especially on his forearm side.
Able to break Crescencio’s serve and hold his, Estoque jumped to a 4-2 lead and controlled the pace of the game.
Unfortunately, Crescencio slipped on a wet spot and stumbled, and everybody wasn’t sure if he was going to continue.
After almost 15 minutes, Crescencio and the USJR tennis staff decided to let him play and finish the match, and that proved to be the turning point of the game.
Despite the injury, Crescencio managed to climb back and equalize the set off his consistent forehand.
However, it was Estoque who jumped with the game-point first, leading at 7-6.
Crescencio then gave his all to force a tie-break, and his efforts were not wasted as he tied the game at 7.
During the tie-break, USJR dominated as USA never stood a chance.
