ERIC JED OLIVAREZ and Johnny Arcilla secured crucial victories in contrasting fashions, setting the stage for a title showdown between the tournament’s top two seeds in the Mayor Eric Olivarez National Open Tennis Championships at the Olivarez Sports Center in Sucat, Parañaque Friday. The top-seeded Olivarez had to recover from an early setback to defeat No. 6 Alexis Acabo, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, while the second-ranked Arcilla utilized his veteran experience to swiftly dispatch No.
4 Vicente Anasta, 6-2, 6-2. Arcilla had previously beaten Olivarez in the final of the Lanao del Norte Open in June 2023. However, Olivarez got his revenge two months later, defeating Arcilla in the semifinals before rallying past Joshua Kinaadman in the Hagedorn Open finals in Puerto Princesa.
Olivarez, a Western Michigan University product, also triumphed over Fritz Verdad to capture the Rep. Edwin Olivarez Cup last December. On his way to the finals, Olivarez defeated Eric Tangub, 6-1, 6-4, in the quarterfinals.
Despite stumbling against Acabo in the semis, he managed to rebound and win the next two sets. Meanwhile, Arcilla dominated Verdad, 6-2, 6-1, in the quarterfinals and then outplayed Anasta to move one victory away from nailing another championship. Both players are also poised for a potential sweep as they advanced to the finals of the men’s doubles competition.
Arcilla and Francis Alcantara edged out Rolly Saga and Verdad with a thrilling 7-6(4), 7-6(5) win in a closely contested semifin.
