SA HANGARING maiangat ang kalidad ng tennis at makatuklas ng mga bagong player, kinuha ni Philippine Lawn Tennis Association (Philta) president Atty. Antonio ‘Tony’ Cabletas ang serbisyo nina dating national players Rod Rafael, Cecil Mamiit, Roland So at Felix Barrientos upang tulungan siyang palakasin ang kanyang grassroots programs.
“I commissioned their services because I firmly believes they can effectively help my programs search young potential players and at par with foreign counterparts,” sabi ni Cabletas.
“For all of you, countryside has abundance of talents. Through effective and long sustainable nationwide and programs, we can flush out promising players,” wika ni Cabletas.
Aniya, kailangan ng maraming bagong manlalaro na papalit sa mga player na magreretiro na matapos maglaro para sa bansa sa maraming international competitions.
“There’s a need of pool of talents to get the best and the brightest players in the like of Rafael, So, Barrientos and Mamiit,” sambit ni Cabletas.
“Some of our players are not getting younger anymore. We need young breed of players to supplant retiring players,” dagdag pa niya.
Samantala, sinabi ni Cabletas na lahat ng age-group tennis tournaments sa bansa ay kailangang may basbas ng Philta para magkaroon ng points at makapaglaro sa labas ng bansa.
“The reason I want to sanction these tournaments is precisely to help them earn points and play for the country. It’s useless to play in tournaments with-out proper recognition because they cannot play overseas,” paliwanag pa niya. CLYDE MARIANO
