Shell-Telesource Open kicks off

The 2004 Shell-Telesource Open got going last night at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.

No less than Shell Marianas retail area manager Jeff Boyer graced the opening, which starts with doubles play this week before concluding with competition in the singles and mixed doubles divisions next week.

Boyer said he was glad to stop by and wish the players good luck. He also said that his company always looks forward to sponsor events like the Shell-Telesource Open.

“I think we’re going on our fourth year already with this tournament and every year it seems to be getting bigger and better. As you know, our community is very small and that makes it all the more important for Shell to give something back to the community,” he said.

For his part, Filipino-American Tennis Association president Eli Buenaventura thanked Boyer and Shell Marianas as well as Telesource CNMI for bankrolling the tournament.

“In behalf of the players and members of FILATA, I would like to extend my sincerest appreciation to our sponsors Shell and Telesource for agreeing to sponsor this worthwhile event. We are expecting more than 100 entries in the next two weeks and that’s more than 100 people grateful for the support of both companies,” he said.

Boyer also said that he is happy to have Telesource partner with them this year in bringing back the FILATA-organized tournament. He said Telesource is one of their customers and they were more than welcome to tag-team with them this year.

Seeded first in the men’s open are Roy Pangelinan and Peter Loyola, followed by singles ace Faheem Ebrahim and youth netter Ji Hoon Heo.

Holding court in men’s 4.5 are Heo and Jun Villanueva. The second seed is the team of Pangelinan and Dino Jones.

Jorge Olanda and Edwin Maratas are the top seeds in men’s 4.0 with Tony Santos and Dr. Mohammad Ashraf expected to give them the toughest challenge.

The duo of Romy Sotto and Ruben Leynes grabbed the pole position in 3.0 with Father Ryan Jimenez and Michael Roberts nipping at their heels with the No. 2 seed.

Over in the women’s, longtime doubles partners Kazumi Imai and Yuko Kobayashi are the top seeds in the women’s open. Young Son and Letty Jones are ranked second. Organizers, meanwhile, expect a three-cornered fight in the women’s 3.0.

For more information about the tournament, please call Elmer Guzman at 483-2004 or Alex Martin at 322-1130.