Gutierrez and Sergio pull off victory

Hector Gutierrez and Buboy Sergio played the role of giant killer to the hilt en route to winning the championship of the 2004 Shell-Telesource Open men’s 4.0 division.

Gutierrez and Sergio followed up their upset of top seeds Jorge Olanda and Edwin Maratas by upending the favored duo of Renato “Dodong” Espanola and Eric Mahinay Sunday night at the American Memorial Park tennis courts.

Espanola and Mahinay struggled the entire game in the face of Gutierrez and Sergio’s aggressive play. Gutierrez and Sergio took the first set easily before getting in a bit of trouble in the second but eventually prevailed in a score of 6-2, 6-4.

The upset trend carried over in the women’s open where the second-ranked tandem of Young Son and Letty Jones stopped top seeds Yuko Kobayashi and Kazumi Imai dead on their tracks.

Son and Jones dominated their opponents in the opening set and in the second they just could do no wrong, shutting out their opponents to post a 6-3, 6-0 victory.

There were no such grand reversals in men’s 4.5 though, as the pair of Jun Villanueva and Ji Hoon Heo validated their No. 1 ranking by routing second seeds Dino Jones and Roy Pangelinan in quick fashion 6-0, 6-2.

The immaculate duo of Father Ryan Jimenez and Michael Roberts also took home the championship in men’s 3.0. The second seeded Jimenez and Roberts solidified their status as the team to beat in the division after outlasting Hector Benitez and Hiob 6-1, 6-3.

Only one match is left in the doubles schedule of tournament organizer Filipino-American Tennis Association. The men’s open finals between the father-and-son pair of Eli and Ralph Buenaventura and Jun Villanueva and Lito Cabrera will be played tonight.

The Buenaventuras barged into the championship round after a gritty 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 triumph of top seeds Peter Loyola and Roy Pangelinan Saturday.

Villanueva and Cabrera, meanwhile, got a free ride into the finals after the second seeded pair of Faheem Ebrahim and Ji Hoon Heo begged off from their semifinals encounter.

Aside from the men’s open doubles finals, the 2004 Shell-Telesource Open will also begin play for its singles and mixed doubles division tonight.

Top seed in the men’s open is Ebrahim followed by Jeff Race and Daniel Son. Favored in the men’s 4.5 is Buddy Garote with Richard Asuncion and Ralph Buenaventura grabbing the next two spots.

Veteran baseliner Jess Pacheco is No. 1 in men’s 4.0 with Tony Santos and Jorge Olanda ranked second and third, respectively. Dr. Gary Ramsey is the man to beat in men’s 3.0 play with Father Jimenez and doubles teammate Roberts in toe.

Ebrahim is reviving his partnership with Sally Wong in mixed doubles and the duo is the team to beat in the open category. Boyet Minor and Yuko Kobayashi are seeded second. Over in mixed 4.0, Joy Minor and Espanola are ranked No. 1 with the brother-and-sister tandem of Reo and Mayuko Arriola getting second seed.

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