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[Tennis King]

Article I read on PDI: http://sports.inquirer.net/4753/huey-may-opt-out-of-nz-tie

Initial team members: Mamiit, Huey, Gonzales and Patrombon.

Glad to see Jeson there... but what happened to Marc Seiber? 

[santeb]

First time ba to sa Pilipinas na No. 1 ranked player sa Pilipinas not invited to play? Dati alam ko minsan top ranked player hinde naglaro pero invited. Kawawa na talaga locals. Thank you for the memories na lang Johnny.

[whizzard]

baka wala pang Philippine passport si Sieber

[daryl]

First time ba to sa Pilipinas na No. 1 ranked player sa Pilipinas not invited to play? Dati alam ko minsan top ranked player hinde naglaro pero invited. Kawawa na talaga locals. Thank you for the memories na lang Johnny.

huey, mamiit, and gonzales are better than johnny..imo..jeson is there because of exposure.let's face it, johnny is getting old..and we need someone who will follow in his footsteps.don't get me wrong, johnny is my idol,but age matters.i think that's why he wasn't chosen.

[SLP888]

Good Luck!!!!

[dani]

GO,, Philippines goodluck

[santeb]

First time ba to sa Pilipinas na No. 1 ranked player sa Pilipinas not invited to play? Dati alam ko minsan top ranked player hinde naglaro pero invited. Kawawa na talaga locals. Thank you for the memories na lang Johnny.

huey, mamiit, and gonzales are better than johnny..imo..jeson is there because of exposure.let's face it, johnny is getting old..and we need someone who will follow in his footsteps.don't get me wrong, johnny is my idol,but age matters.i think that's why he wasn't chosen.

I don't understand the reason for putting a young player in the main lineup knowing full well he won't play or in this case knowing he won't do as well as Arcilla if he indeed is chosen to play. Exposure, what exposure will he gain being on the main team that he won't get being an alternate. Being an alternate, he will be with the team during practice and during the tie. When it will be time to play and the captain would have to go to his bench, there is no way Jeson will perform better than Arcilla because of DC experience. DC is different, just look what happened to Navarosa in the '90's. Good thing the team was creative enough to have him replaced with Suarez so they were able to pull off a great win. You could say he may get to play the non-bearing matches, but would it be worth the risk not to play a better and more experienced player when the match still matters.
There is also too much discretion in choosing the team because the Philippines can't pay for these guys to be on the circuit. The top players, specially the top ranked player should be financed to play the circuit so that the choice can be based on world rankings. As it is, who the better player is, is based on subjective judgement. In practice, these players don't really dominate Arcilla and Arcilla does win against them.
It's easy to take this selection process for granted if you are not the player by-passed. I remember a player getting so upset when the same thing happened to him in 2004. A junior player was supposed to be put in the SEA Games line-up for exposure. He was so upset he cursed at his coach on the phone, he thought anonymously. Of course the coach knew who it was as that was the only controversy at the time.
Where in the world will you see the number one ranked player of the country not chosen to represent his country in the Davis Cup. Another Onliinda. 

[Tennis King]

FYI: Technically Johnny is not our No. 1 player... Have you seen the ATP Rankings lately? Huey is No. 1, Gonzales is No. 2 and Jeson is No. 3.... Both Mamiit and Arcilla are not ranked. Johnny is only No. 1 locally, as he participates in local tournaments wherein the Top 3 and even Mamiit are not joining.  Johnny already did enough... time to pass the torch. 

Line-up is correct IMHO.... Johnny can be included as the fifth member of the team!

[reboj]

FYI: Technically Johnny is not our No. 1 player... Have you seen the ATP Rankings lately? Huey is No. 1, Gonzales is No. 2 and Jeson is No. 3.... Both Mamiit and Arcilla are not ranked. Johnny is only No. 1 locally, as he participates in local tournaments wherein the Top 3 and even Mamiit are not joining.  Johnny already did enough... time to pass the torch. 

Line-up is correct IMHO.... Johnny can be included as the fifth member of the team!

+1 ako dito 

[luxilionwave]

TK is right here. We have to pump some new blood here and look at the future. This is a common occurence in other top Davis Cup nations and besides I don't see any locals besides, Jeson to be our next top local.

[santeb]

FYI: Technically Johnny is not our No. 1 player... Have you seen the ATP Rankings lately? Huey is No. 1, Gonzales is No. 2 and Jeson is No. 3.... Both Mamiit and Arcilla are not ranked. Johnny is only No. 1 locally, as he participates in local tournaments wherein the Top 3 and even Mamiit are not joining.  Johnny already did enough... time to pass the torch. 

Line-up is correct IMHO.... Johnny can be included as the fifth member of the team!

That's why I said it's not a level playing field because the others whether they are financially capable of playing the circuit or has a sponsor footing their bill have an advantage. Other countries top players have no problem joining the circuit as they are supported either by their NSA's or by private entities. When it come's to who's a better player between Johnny and Jeson at this point, I think Johnny would have the edge.
As to other countries specially to top countries doing that, I don't agree. Davis Cup is a four man line-up. You will have the 2 best singles players of the country playing and their top doubles team, if their is one like in the US. If you look at the line-ups of the top countries, it will always be their top ranked players be it in singles or doubles because they all have the financial capacity to have their best players play the circuit, so it's a level playing field. Sad to say, that will never happen here as  history shows, most of the top players will not have the financial capacity to join the circuit on their own. So you will always have the situation where we are at now, that players who play the circuit of course will be ranked higher than those who don't play the circuit.

[DASMA BOY]

Si Arcilla, tapos na prime niya. Ang track record ni Arcilla on his past records ay abysmal. Jeson have a clearly better track record sa past international stint, as high as number 9 sa ITF juniors, and CLEARLY better than Arcilla. His ranking will still go up as he plays Aegon juniors and Wimbledon. No comparison. Si Jeson ang future ng pinoy tennis, doon tayo magconcentrate. Si Arcilla, nabigyan na ng maraming chance to represent Philippines, he medalled pa, of course his teammates are Mamiit and other FilAms.

[reboj]

Si Arcilla, tapos na prime niya. Ang track record ni Arcilla on his past records ay abysmal. Jeson have a clearly better track record sa past international stint, as high as number 9 sa ITF juniors, and CLEARLY better than Arcilla. His ranking will still go up as he plays Aegon juniors and Wimbledon. No comparison. Si Jeson ang future ng pinoy tennis, doon tayo magconcentrate. Si Arcilla, nabigyan na ng maraming chance to represent Philippines, he medalled pa, of course his teammates are Mamiit and other FilAms.

+100 ako dito! 

time to Arcilla to pass the torch to Jeson. 

[santeb]

Si Arcilla, tapos na prime niya. Ang track record ni Arcilla on his past records ay abysmal. Jeson have a clearly better track record sa past international stint, as high as number 9 sa ITF juniors, and CLEARLY better than Arcilla. His ranking will still go up as he plays Aegon juniors and Wimbledon. No comparison. Si Jeson ang future ng pinoy tennis, doon tayo magconcentrate. Si Arcilla, nabigyan na ng maraming chance to represent Philippines, he medalled pa, of course his teammates are Mamiit and other FilAms.

Mga comment na ganito ang dahilan na sirangsira ka sa Philippine tennis. Nabuhayan ka kay Jeson pero alam ng mga connected sa tennis ano ginawa mo para makuha yan. Dapat ngayon na nabuhayan ka magpakatino ka na. Ang liit ng mundo ng Philippine tennis.

[DASMA BOY]

Grabe inggit ng taong ito.(Another pinoy crab mentality rearing its head) Ano ba ginawa mo sa Philippine tennis? Malamang wala Gumaling si Jeson dahil sa programa at pagsumikap nya. Ikaw  Yan ang klaseng tao, kaya hindi umaasenso ang pinoy sa tennis. Sige nga ano ba ginawa ng taong sinasabi mo para makuha si Jeson.

[smiley]

baka mas ok na meron tayo new thread-

ARCILLA vs PATROMBON, who's better now?

para di ako OT, hope RP beats NZ, Cheers!

[tommyfr]

As of now official ATP singles ranking is

Huey 800 (most playing doubles on the tour where he is ranked 91 in the world)
Gonzales 900
Patrombon 1350.

In my estimate the level of C Mamit is around 300, and as for J Arcilla (i watched him play 3 matches 2010, and also saw Patrombon 3 matches last April 2011)

a- he is from what i saw much better than Jeson (harder serve, more consistant forehand, better backhand, softer hands (e dropshot), volley similar, more match smartness, higher low level in matches, stronger physique)
b- has a playing capacity, when i saw him, around/equivalent to 700

Of course Patrombon has a better potential and should be included in the squad to see and learn.....

[santeb]

Grabe inggit ng taong ito.(Another pinoy crab mentality rearing its head) Ano ba ginawa mo sa Philippine tennis? Malamang wala Gumaling si Jeson dahil sa programa at pagsumikap nya. Ikaw  Yan ang klaseng tao, kaya hindi umaasenso ang pinoy sa tennis. Sige nga ano ba ginawa ng taong sinasabi mo para makuha si Jeson.

Hinde mo yata nakuha ang mali sa comment mo. Pinalabas mo na si Johnny nagkamedal lang dahil sa Fil-Ams, yun ang masama sa comment mo. Yang kung si Johnny o Jeson maglaro, yang issue na yan, kanyakanyang opinion yan. Pero yang statement mo na sinamahan mo pa na dahil sa Fil-Am nananalo ng medal, di na kailangan ibangit yan. Alalahanin mo na si Johnny ang number one sa mga locals, pagtinira mo accomplishment nyan, paano pa yung lower ranked na players. Ikaw, parang di ka nangaling as player, di ka lang nga nag top 8. Di bali, pagnagsali si Jeson sa PCA, iwelcome ka don nina Da Mart, Boy Jorge, Oldskul, Rocky, Johnny Arcilla and family. Si Russel galing pa sa karaoke muna bago ka batihin. Dinadala mo lahat ng tira sa yo sa selos. Walang tennis player magseselos sa yo.

[renald]

Dapat iprove muna ni Jeson at magchampion sa local mens. If he does that, there will be no more question. Puro speculations lang kung sino ang mas deserving.

I understand dasma boy, you must have confidence in your player but the performance or results should do the talking not the player or the coach.

Kawawa naman si Jeson, walang ginagawa, marami nang ......dahil sa comments ng taong nakapaligid sa kanya.

[tennisfan]

There’s no denying Johnny have done a lot for our country in representing international competitions and in the sports in general, while Jeson is just an up and comer. Pero hindi mo talaga sila ma compare na dalawa kung sino magaling unless they play each other. But even then that would not settle the issue on who’s going to play well during the actual match, because like boxing, in tennis, styles makes fight plus experience would play a big factor and here Johnny would probably edge out against Jeson. Pero IMHO I think the issue is not about who’s better between the two of them, or who’s going to win in the actual competition, but it’s about who’s going to improve more and have potentials. Ang skills nila katulad ng paglaki ng tao, si Jeson ay patuloy pang tumutubo at may growth spurts pa ika nga, he can improve in months, weeks or even days, while si Johnny ay siguro pwede pang ma improve pero konti na lang, because even in the professional level, you can rarely see a 31 yr old improving their professional ranking, it’s more going down than up. We should focus more on developing Jeson or younger generations to prepare them for the future rather than trying to put up our veterans and hopes to win. While nag away away tayo, our other Asian counterparts are already fielding their young guns.

[luxilionwave]

no need to know who is the better player, tennis fan hit the nail, the issue here is long term good for Philippine tennis. Invest in the youth. IMO, i don't think Jeson is the issue here isn't it?

[Bobby Armillo]

If I may suggest, let's just unite, support and be proud of each and every single Filipino tennis players. UNITED AND STRONG! MABUHAY ANG PILIPINAS! MABUHAY ANG PILIPINO!

[smiley]

If I may suggest, let's just unite, support and be proud of each and every single Filipino tennis players. UNITED AND STRONG! MABUHAY ANG PILIPINAS! MABUHAY ANG PILIPINO!

look at Treat's wimbledon profile, he's carrying our colors! something to be proud of!

http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/players/overview/atph788.html

[Addie_56ers]

 

Personal suggestion lang ..mag try out lahat ang candidates sa Davis cup team para malaman kung sino deserving sa team...

[santeb]

The issue here was whether it is the right policy for Philippine tennis to include the younger, unproven player instead of the arguably better and more prepared player in Davis Cup. It got sidetracked by someone disparaging the accomplishment of a long time top player of the country. Worst, the person doing the disparaging has an interest in the younger person being included in the line-up. It's ok to argue on an issue, there's no need to disparage, most specially a long time top ranked player of the Philippines in doing so, specially if one disparaging does not have as good a playing record and whose reputation is not spotless to begin with.

[DASMA BOY]

hahahaha who was disparaging who first. Tinira mo muna si Patrombon's inexperience and youth over Arcilla's mediocre international results. Have to defend our local boy siempre over Arcilla's international record. Matanong ko nga, who has the better ITF record and more international exposure this past year? And the boy is only 18 years old...so much potential and a promising future. And who disparaged who?Hahaha Even my tennis record and my personal life. Geez, grabe na ang inggit ng taong ito, kasi he knows so much about me. Malakas loob kasi anonymous siya.hahaha.
Being a top player in Philippines does not immune you to criticism, btw.

[tennisfan]

I don’t think Jeson has to prove anything by playing in the local tourneys whether he deserves or not. After all what Jeson did, working hard and sacrificing his future academic standing by opting out of school just to be able to focus and break the top ten, that no other Filipinos have done in a while, it should be more than enough, and it would be so much unfair to ask Jeson to do that (hindi pa ba sapat ‘yan). Not that the local tourneys are a waste of time, but time is running out for Jeson. This is the stage (transition from junior to professional player) that is very crucial to every aspiring juniors, this is the proving point a make or break. He has to divide his time by playing more major junior tournaments hoping to improve his year end ranking and hopefully with high ranking can get ticket for more wildcards in the futures tournament, and playing itf circuit to get those crucial points and be able to improve his ranking and hopefully in the near future jump to at least around 500th rank just in order for him to have hope and see if he has what it takes to break further to at least 200th in the world. If he will not make this in due time say 2 or 3 yrs. then the sponsors, will start to think whether they’re just wasting their money or making a good investment (although even then, in the Philippines 2 or 3 yrs of funding a touring pro who is ranked around 300 to 1000 +  would cost a lot of money). And if you failed to do that and the sponsors will back out, then you will just be on your own, and you will just be like so many other aspiring players who will be lost in the limbo, circling between rank 500 or lower or 1600 or …. until you will ultimately be out of the ranking system, and then your dream will just evaporate just like your ranking points.

[santeb]

hahahaha who was disparaging who first. Tinira mo muna si Patrombon's inexperience and youth over Arcilla's mediocre international results. Have to defend our local boy siempre over Arcilla's international record. Matanong ko nga, who has the better ITF record and more international exposure this past year? And the boy is only 18 years old...so much potential and a promising future. And who disparaged who?Hahaha Even my tennis record and my personal life. Geez, grabe na ang inggit ng taong ito, kasi he knows so much about me. Malakas loob kasi anonymous siya.hahaha.
Being a top player in Philippines does not immune you to criticism, btw.

That Jeson is still inexperienced in men's competition and is youthful is a given and not disparaging, that is a fact. Stop dragging the kid into this argument. To state that Johnny's international record is abysmal and to mention that he only wins because of his teammates is, because you are not giving due respect to the guy. You were a player once, you should know better. You already have a lot of problems with other tennis players and coaches and doing this just got you deeper into the others not liking you more. I was hoping you would change with the success you had with Jeson, but, it seems you really have a personality problem which causes friction among other tennis players and coaches. As I was telling you, Philippine tennis is so small everyone knows each other. I feel sorry for you because this comment of yours will spread among the top tennis players and coaches and you will be more despised now. Good luck to you, specially Jeson.

[Bobby Armillo]

My Dear Friends,

If you think that this thread is helping our players, particularly Jeson Patrombon and Johnny Arcilla in terms of becoming better players in general or for being the players that we want them to be, please continue with your thoughts.

Today, I received a call from a good tennis friend and an icon of many players regarding the matter and it's sad to know that this thread went beyond tolerable to many and is demotivating and demoralizing many of our tennis players, young and old, local and international.

With this, as a professional coach trying to uplift Philippine tennis the best ways I can, and in behalf of my colleagues who are trying to do the same, may I please humbly ask for your kind consideration to cease comparing our players in such ways that are not so helpful for them.

I am praying that PTO and its members in general will be of help to the Philippine tennis community in the most positive manner possible.

Please pardon me for airing my thoughts as I felt the need of doing this for the sake of our players and not just for the sake of airing my own thoughts.

Let us please try to get united for ours players and let us please inspire them instead.

Thank you.

Bobby Armillo

[tennisfan]

Coach Bob is right. I just remembered my lessons from history about how the Spaniards are using the tactic divide and conquer to defeat the Filipinos. Philippine tennis is so small as Santeb said, and no doubt it would become much smaller if our coaches and tennis leaders who are highly regarded as role model by our junior and senior players alike are not united. It’s so sad to know, just when Philippine tennis found life and hope after Alcantara’s success and now Patrombon, we are starting to get divided.
The reason I am pushing for Jeson (again I am not comparing one is better than the other) is that Jeson has the biggest chances of becoming the future of Philippine tennis. And right now he needs to get all the experiences in order to blossom as a top professional player. But given the situation and conflicts, IMHO, it would probably better for Jeson to set aside Davis Cup for now and just focus on competing in major junior (Grade 1, A (specially in Europe and Americas are fielded with top juniors who are also competing in futures), or Grandslam) and pro circuit tournaments as the competition out there is tougher, more varied and most importantly he still has the ways and means (financially) to do it that our top locals don’t have. This way Jeson can still make the Filipinos proud without playing Davis Cup.

[edreams11]

yup i think kowch bob is absolutely in the right mind set for Philippine tennis. but you know what? we really have to compare players to know who to field in or who stands a chance internationally. ang problema, the mentality we have in comparing our players is "crabs in the bucket". tipong "if I can't have it, neither should you." samahan pa ng politika. the best!!! i was fortunate to talk to rusell (father of johnny arcilla) sometime ago and he was really disappointed and sad about our tennis officials and the system per se. i know that some of our pto members who bannered our flag before will somehow agree with mr rusell.

so whether it be jeson or johnny, let's give our support to them. comparing them in a negative way will not prosper their stand internationally.

[tommyfr]

I f the players cant take it that people at an online community discuss the davis cup team selection, incl comparison of ranking, track record, skills stroke by stroke, potential and so forth,what a pity. Are They lacking mental toughness?

And what does that say about the competence of the coaches, their competence not on technique or strength and conditioning but on the 3rd foundation...the mental game..

Why not take it as a challenge, or just shrugg it off, maybe be a little hurt a day or two or 5 minutes..   but demoralizing and intolerable?

As for Davis cup selection: why not do as the top countries. Elect 5-6 players and let them meet up 8-10 days before. Let them have tough pratices, incl playing eachother. See who is better, in better form for that period at least. Make final team decision a couple of days before...

[santeb]

There will be no problem with the players. The players are a close knit group of people. Johnny would grin and bear being displaced and won't blame Jeson for it, knowing that it was not Jeson who made the choice. The tennis players of the country even from way back are a close knit group of people. They have a special bond. When we see each other in a tournament or anywhere else, we bond. Johnny is a second generation tennis player, his dad is well known with the group. What was just being discussed is the policy of considering exposure as a major factor in putting a player in the Davis Cup line-up. Do not compare the situation of the Philippines with the top countries as it is easy to determine who is better in the top countries as their players are in the top 100 and rankings in that level are pretty accurate. They don't need try outs. All they need is determination as to who is better on what surface. If you look at the ages of the Davis Cup players in the World Group the youngest is 21 years old and their are only a few 25 and below. Tennis is now so physical those coming off the juniors will be hard put to compete with their bigger elders. I doubt if we will see another Michael Chang anymore. Anyway, at this time, this discussion is moot as Johnny is in the line-up.

[DASMA BOY]

  .........Aaaaaah... The good old boys network.....

[tommyfr]

Hi Santeb, you said this is not any problems with the players. I hope and think so but this is what Bobby Armillo wrote:
it's sad to know that this thread went beyond tolerable to many and is demotivating and demoralizing many of our tennis players, young and old, local and international

As for try outs: the Davis cup captains of many of the big nations dont go with ranking only. Not at all. Always the case a lot of players might be out of form, or a bit injured, or coming back after aperiod of injury, and so forth.

 I know this very well. For ex last Davis cup match in World group between Sweden and Russia,a few months back, the Swedish captain Thomas Enquist elected Joakim Johanssson, ranked 750 in the world at that time, for the second singles (after Robin Soderling on the 1st singles) to meet Russians ranked around 70. In the squad he had many other swedish players higher ranked than him, but based on the trainings/tests, practice matches before the games he chose JJ. An the swedish player won (btw at one time hitting a second serve at 230 km/hour!!).

So this principle should be even more relevant for the Philippines as the top local player is not on the international tour. And Huey is most playing doubles, completely different to singles. So let Gonzales, Patrombon, Arcilla play it out for the second singles.

[tennisfan]

This is a continuation from my last opinion.

Why don’t we just instead give Johnny the chance as the main man now and not just an alternate. No doubt Mamiit had done a lot to make us Filipino proud but I think he had done enough and is not getting younger anymore.

Because of our mentality of doing what it takes to win now, we tried to put Mamiit there just because he has the biggest chances of winning and forgetting to plant seeds on our younger players. By the time Mamiit is gone, most of our next generation players who would take over are either not fully experienced or are yet to start gaining experiences. By the time they will become seasoned players, they will be too old to compete, but then we probably will still let them play thinking they have the biggest chances of winning and again denying our up and comers the needed experience, and this will become a cycle.

It’s time for us to give the others like Arcilla the chance while they still have few peak yrs. left. I believe our locals have what it takes to become world class players. They just don’t have the opportunities to compete worldwide regularly to improve more as they don’t have enough resources to do it. This lessens our chances of winning no doubt, but win or loss, the Davis Cup will still be there and we will still be playing in the next schedule. Just like playing chess you’re always looking ahead, you probably have to sacrifice a piece or two now in order to win, we probably lose a tie now or even relegated to group II but this will enable us to build our current and future team. We have to forget about winning now or what group we are and just focus on developing our team, now and for the future and the wins and world group will ultimately come.

With this, we still need Mamiit as consultant and hitting partner, as his experiences are crucial to our player’s development and readiness. His presence will also boost their confidence and inspire them to work hard even more as they would try although it’s hard, to step on his (Mamiit) shoes, and not to mention this would probably the best way of passing the torch?

Easier said than done, but, just my thought.

[bob_minton03]

I agree. It's time to pass the torch. =D

[tennisfan]

Hi Tommyfr, you are right, try out is the best way to identify the best players to handle a particular task. But based on what I said earlier, it is hard for us to follow what other big tennis countries are doing like having a try out. If we will do this then this would mean Mamiit would still be playing for the team in probably 3 to 5 more yrs unless he decides to give other players the chances to play as he would probably easily make it in the try out. If not, then by the time he’s gone probably Gonzales, Huey, and even Arcilla would be too old but might still be our front runners as they would probably make it to the try out too. With this scenario we will never have the chance to develop our younger players. You see the big difference between Philippines and say a powerhouse country like Sweden, if they will be fielding their current best players for the Davis Cup, they still have a lot other players who are around 200th to 500th that are very much either active in the tour or at the challengers and futures tournaments, thereby giving them the necessary experiences that will prepare them as next Davis Cup players, while in the Philippines we are already very lucky to have only Huey, Gonzales and Patrombon doing that. While Huey and Gonzales are already getting older, we don’t know until when is Patrombon being able to do that, not to mention Huey might opt out on some ties and would be very understandable as he is getting his momentum now on his doubles career and he needs to be very active in the tour in order to raise his ranking and even defend it. That is why the slot for Davis Cup and other International tournaments are hotly contested by our local players as this is the only avenue where they will have the chance to compete internationally and gain some valuable experiences and even earn a little money to support themselves and their families, and eventually able to practice here and there while doing some coaching job for a little money.

[tennisfan]

That is why for most of our local players, David Cup and other International competitions are so much more than nationalism, the truth is, it’s their means.

[tennisfan]

BTW, please forgive me if I'm wrong on my last post.

[santeb]

This all started because I noted that this would be the first time in the history of Philippine tennis wherein the local player dominating the national tournaments won't be invited to the Davis Cup team. This would be extremely  demoralizing to the local players. When I asked the top locals the last tie what they thought about the demand of Jeson's camp to include him in the lineup, the consensus was that unlike Nino before, Jeson hasn't proven anything in local tournaments. The significance of this first in Philippine tennis is that, what would the locals now strive for, if the best player among them is not even considered for the Davis Cup. Being a Davis Cupper is the most sought after prize among the locals. What now would they be striving for except for the prize money which is not sufficient to begin with. I guess they would do what Bong Battad did, retire early and teach tennis in a foreign land. At least Battad was displaced by locals who were proven even in local play. I guess the local tour should now start having seminars on how to teach tennis.

[DASMA BOY]

Proven Anything???hahahahaha.... Number 9 ITF World Juniors and an ATP World ranking, and still ,you ask  jeson to prove himself locally....Mamiit,Taino,Huey,Barrientos,Beeyong Sison,, I don't remember them being number 1 locally....You are funny...Consensus din ng mga ITF coaches, is to let the young gun play, for more international experience.

[smiley]

Article I read on PDI: http://sports.inquirer.net/4753/huey-may-opt-out-of-nz-tie

Initial team members: Mamiit, Huey, Gonzales and Patrombon.

Glad to see Jeson there... but what happened to Marc Seiber? 

Fil-German to miss Davis Cup
By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
June 16, 2011, 11:23pm
MANILA, Philippines — Marc Sieber, the Filipino-German player who made waves when he won the PCA Open last November in his Philippine debut, is out of the Davis Cup team after failing to secure a Philippine passport.

He would have been eligible to play for the national team against New Zealand in the Asia Oceania Zone Group I Davis Cup tie slated July 8 to 10.

He will also likely miss the Indonesia Southeast Asian Games on Nov. 11 to 25.

Philippine Tennis Association (Philta) vice president Randy Villanueva Thursday said the 23-year-old player still does not have a Philippine passport, a requirement for him to play for the national squad.

For him to get a passport, his mother, a native of Cagayan de Oro, must first get her own Philippine passport. At this juncture, her papers are still being processed which very likely will not be finished on time, tennis officials said.

The left-handed Sieber, born and raised in Straubing, Germany, would have been a strong addition to the Philippine team.

He is currently ranked No. 525 in the ATP singles ranking.

Since beating Johnny Arcilla in the PCA final, Sieber has been busy competing in ATP events in Italy, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Portugal.

Meanwhile, Philta said it will announce the final lineup for the Davis Cup team next week. The team is bidding to stay in Group I.

The Filipinos bowed to the Japanese team, 1-3, in Cebu last March which relegated them in the first-round of playoffs.

A victory against New Zealand in the coming tie will earn them a meeting with Taiwan on July 16 to 18.

Among those eyed for the team are Fil-Americans Cecil Mamiit and Treat Huey, Johnny Arcilla and Elbert Anasta; Guangzhou Asian Gamer Ruben Gonzales and top junior player Jeson Patrombon.

They are the members of the Philippines-Japan tie last March.

[Tennis King]

Philta should have exerted all effort to help Marc secure his passport. Without Marc medyo dehado tayo sa New Zealand as they have 2 players in the Top 400. Buti na lang dito gaganapin yung tie pwede natin pabagalin at painitin yung court.

A win against New Zealand is imperative, a loss will almost tantamount to Group 2 regelation as the next team (China or Taipei) is much tougher.

[santeb]

Proven Anything???hahahahaha.... Number 9 ITF World Juniors and an ATP World ranking, and still ,you ask  jeson to prove himself locally....Mamiit,Taino,Huey,Barrientos,Beeyong Sison,, I don't remember them being number 1 locally....You are funny...Consensus din ng mga ITF coaches, is to let the young gun play, for more international experience.

All those you posted already had  substantial Men's competition success when they played DC for the Philippines. You should know that success in juniors does not necessarily translate to success in men's competition. I don't think it would be good at this point to already be putting Jeson at the level of those you mentioned. Men's international competition is now very tough. Take it a step at a time. It's a wonder why Jeson doesn't really have a record against the locals. Kyle and Nino at this point in their juniors career you already could gauge against the locals. How good Jeson is compared to the locals will not be accomplished by talk. We will find out when he plays a local tournament.

[luxilionwave]

Here's my few cents.Felix Barrientos and Tony Boy del Rosario played Davis Cup even at a younger age. Success in world junior tennis is a relatively good indicator of success in pro tennis, but not the only basis. There are more intangibles in determining success at the Pro level. Winning a local tournament is definitely not an indicator of success at the pro level. You can win all the local tournaments you have and still be a dud in Pro tennis.

[tommyfr]

So Arcilla might join the team after all?
And can someone explain this that Jeson camp "demand" him to play. What right do they have to come up with demands. did they really do that?

Jeson should be part of the team training before the matches vs NZ,(to see, learn, get experience) but if he dont prove he is better than Arcilla , Gonzales, Huey etc, he should not play singles.

He was ranked  nr 10 not long time among juniors, presently number 15, that is equivalent to a rank of around 1300-1500 on the main tour. This is how tough and deep men's game is today.By the way, he recently (the other day in a junior tournament in England)lost to a junior ranked 60 in the world.

Normally a player on the main tour (ATP) ranked 600-700 beat a 1400 ranked player 6-2, 6-3. And the NZ team have 4 players ranked 300-550!! Most probably Jeson has no chance in the world to make a win there. That not fair.

Mamit, Huey, Gonzales, (Sieber for sure was he available)can have a chance, maybe also Arcilla. Not Anasta or Jeson in my judgement, they are behind, they both overhit, are not consistent enough,makes too many unforced errors esp on forehand.

Let the best team play and lets go for win. Dont look at age, previous results, potential, torches, junior ranking, local ranking, generation change, or whatever. Pick the best guys at this time, period. Let the captain decide that based on what he sees at the gathering a week or so before that Match.

[santeb]

If the Filipino tennis players were all similarly situated and every top ranking Filipino could play the int'l pro circuit and tour we would not have this problem of not having an objective basis for ranking. Unfortunately, those who could play the int'l circuit or tour is more the exception than the rule. This puts into play discretion in the selection of players. With those who have an exceptionally high ranking in the pro tour, there will be no question as to his qualification. There will be if the player you put in has not yet demonstrated that he would be a better representative than another. It all boils down to that. The practice of putting a player in because he is younger would even be controversial in a developed country as it can be considered discrimination, if this would be the sole basis of him being chosen over another.

[SLP888]

Hello guys! I've just read all your comments in this topic and while I'm reading at the same time laughing. Santeb and DASMA boy are good friends but different ideas they both have points in their opinion. What we really need now is composing a very strong team represent our country. Let's work together to bring back Philippine Tennis to where it should be, wayback, 60 years ago Philippine tennis is the powerhouse of asia.

Selecting players to represent the country is difficult job to do specially in Philippines. Give chance the other and despised the other. If you're being despised accept it workhard and a have positive mentality, there always been next!

[smiley]

Selecting players to represent the country is difficult job to do specially in Philippines. Give chance the other and despised the other. If you're being despised accept it workhard and a have positive mentality, there always been next!

I agree with you, it's hard to select players to represent our country. I believe our present coaches have its own selection process. "Tayo lang naman ang mga makukulit to ask bakit cya pinasok or bakit di si ganito?" Same thing happened with our junior davis cup players. Same questions asked.

Well, if you are the coach or adviser of the team, you'll have your own preference. For now, I think we have to agree, whoever the coach chooses to play, we have to respect his decision for he knows at that very moment the player may (or may not) deliver the goods for the country.