THE Philippine men’s soft tennis team beat Thailand, 2-1, to complete a sweep of the gold medals in the sport in the 30th Southeast Asian Games at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center.
Joseph Arcilla won the singles, while Mikoff Manduriao and Dheo Talatayod won the second doubles match to give the Philippines the gold medal in the men’s team event.
Arcilla, the top soft tennis player in the country, beat Yannarit Kawin of Thailand, 4-1, to forge a deadlock in the tie after Noel Damian and Mark Anthony Alcoseba dropped a 5-3 decision over Thansiriroj Sakan and Surarak Thanarit, 5-3, in the first doubles match.
Manduriao and Talatayod captured the final match, beating Sujaritplee Teerapat and Songweera Torlarp, 5-3, for the gold medal.
The Philippines swept all three events in soft tennis, which was last part of the SEA Games calendar in 2011. Bien Zoleta-Mañalac won the women’s singles and teamed up with sister Bambi Zoleta to win the women’s doubles diadem.
Manduriao and Talatayod took an early 2-0 lead, but Thailand scored three straight games to wrest control.
The Philippine duo, however, was able to break serve in the seventh game on their way to the win. At matchpoint, a forehand by Thailand sailed out, prompting a celebration that saw teammates douse the doubles pair with water.
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