MANILA – Joewyn Rey Pascua and Axl Lajon Gonzaga of the Philippines made a splash in their international debut by securing two consecutive boys’ doubles titles at the Detec International Junior Championships in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Pascua, 16, and Gonzaga, 17, won their first International Tennis Federation (ITF) title on May 20 by overpowering Indonesians Putu Agassi Pranata Nida and Faried Widyarohmadhiansyah, 6-2, 6-1, in the final.

In the semifinals, they eked out a 6-3, 6-3 upset over No. 4 seeds Julien Tremolieres of Singapore and Vinhhien Truong of Vietnam.

They moved past three Indonesian pairs: M Mouressi Muqorib and Nabasa Simanungkalit in the first round, 6-0, 6-1; No. 7 seeds Aldhito Ramadhan Dwi Kurniawan and Jahfal Muna Kanahaya in the second round, 6-4, 3-6, 10-7; and M Akmal Junaini and Michal Ihsan Wicaksana in the quarterfinals , 7-5, 6-1.

Pascua also had a notable run in singles, where he lost in the final to No. 4 seed Truong, 2-6, 6-4, 6-7(4).

He knocked out three seeded players in the tournament, including No. 1 seed Taj Hibbert of Australia whom he overcame in the semis, 1-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Gonzaga, meanwhile, was ousted by eventual winner Truong in the second round, 5-7, 4-6.

The following week at the J5 Yogyakarta tilt, Pascua and Gonzaga notched their second ITF crown on May 28 after playing their semifinal and final matches on the same day.

They withstood comeback attempts by Vietnamese No. 2 seeds Pham La Hoang Anh and Tran Quoc Cuong in the semifinal, 6-4, 6-7(3), 10-4, and Indonesians Kurniawan and Kanahaya in the final, 6-1, 6-7(4), 10-3.

On their way to the semis, they also defeated Indonesian tandems thrice: Renaldi Aqila Arifadli Salim and Raphael Dandi Perwira Paska in the first round, 6-3, 6-3; seventh seeds Joachim Mika Gunawan and Nicholas Matthew Subekti in the second round, 6-1, 6-2; and Kareem Abdul Hakim and Justin Kuo, 3-6, 6-3, 10-7.

In the singles draw, Pascua lost again to No. 4 seed Truong in the quarters, 4-6, 6-4, 0-6.

Gonzaga, who qualified for the main draw, fell to No. 2 seed Matthew Johnstone of Singapore in the third round, 4-6, 6-1, 5-7.

Angara, Carbonilla post quarterfinal finishes in Indonesia

Other Filipino junior netters who competed in the two-week J5 Yogyakarta were Edgardo Manuel Angara, 18, and Heinz Aslan Carbonilla, 16.

In the first week, Angara lost to Indonesian wildcard Louis Maha Viro Deo Tarigan, 3-6, 1-6, in the opening round.

He teamed up with home bet Claudio Renardi Lumanau, and they posted a second round finish against Singaporean No. 1 seeds Johnstone and Gareth Ong, 7-6(2), 3-6, 9-11.

Carbonilla qualified for the singles main draw, where he was defeated by top seed Hibbert in the quarterfinal, 1-6, 4-6.

In the second week, Angara was edged out by Gunawan in the first round, 4-6, 6-3, 3-6.

No. 6 seeds Angara and Truong then booked a doubles quarterfinal slot, but fell short to No. 2 seeds Anh and Cuong, 4-6, 4-6.

Meanwhile, Carbonilla lost in the second round of qualifying to M Rizky Varrellito of Indonesia, 3-6, 6-3, 8-10.

He also reached the second round in doubles alongside Lumanao, losing to No. 5 seeds Taj and Jy Hibbert, 3-6, 2-6.

For Carbonilla, the J5 Yogyakarta is his first overseas tournament while for Angara, the event’s two editions are his ninth and 10th international tilts, following his stints at the J5 Mauritius, J5 Selangor in Malaysia, J5 Telde and J4 Telde in Spain, J5 Skopje in North Macedonia, J5 Tirana in Albania, and J5 San Diego and J4 Las Vegas in the United States.

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