Padel Pilipinas coaches complete their Formacion Padel Premium coaching course in Madrid, Spain
Padel Pilipinas, the official Padel federation in the Philippines as recognized by the Philippine Olympic Committee and Philippine Sports Commission, marked a strong first quarter for the year. Last March, a team was sent to a month-long series of training sessions in Portugal and Spain. Padel coaches Bryan Joshua Casao, Argil Lance Cañizares, Raymark Gulfo, and Tao Yee Tan underwent intensive training, match plays, and international exposure at Padel Factory in Cascais, Portugal, and Vita 10 in Madrid, Spain.
Padel Pilipinas Head Coach Bryan Casao shared about the team’s experience, “So many great takeaways from this trip. Aside from getting to compete in high level tournaments, we learned how we can be better players and, more so, better coaches. We are very excited to share all these with our students most especially in our grassroots clinics which Padel Pilipinas has been regularly doing all over the country.”
Shortly after their training, Padel Pilipinas sent the team to compete in the Asia Pacific Padel Tour (APPT) Hong Kong Grand Slam 2024 held last April 11-14. Filipino Multiple-Time Padel Champion Derrick Santos emerged victorious, securing first runner-up in the Mixed Open Finals, alongside his French partner, Kim Ben Attar.
PH Padel Champ Derrick Santos and French partner Kim Ben Attar place first runner-up in the finals of the Mixed Doubles Open
“With 31 participating countries, I believe our team has made considerable strides in Hong Kong. In fact, in Asia we came second to Japan!” exclaimed Santos.
Santos also disclosed, “It was my first podium finish in the Mixed category where we won against the Japanese team in the semis, but lost a tight match to a more experienced Spanish team in the finals. I am also very proud that I stood beside Johnny (Arcilla) for his first international victory.”
Tennis icon Johnny Arcilla on the court for his international Padel tournament debut.
Tennis legend Johnny Arcilla, who previously dominated the Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) Tennis Tournament with ten championships, made his international Padel debut at said weekend. Along with Santos, he won his first-ever international match against a seasoned Spanish-Argentinean tandem.
Also competing for the first time internationally was Senator Pia Cayetano, alongside her partner Tao Yee Tan in the Women’s Open category, and partner Raymark Gulfo in the Mixed Open category.
“It was a great experience. We won some matches and lost others. My first game was against one of my Spanish coaches who went on to win the tournament. The level of playing is really high and clearly the Spanish have a headstart. But I’m happy that our team is here and getting exposed to this level of competition,” said Cayetano who headed the Padel Pilipinas delegation.
Senator Pia Cayetano and Tao Yee Tan on their first international padel tournament. The partners finish the tournament with a first runner-up win in the finals of the consolation round of the Women’s Open
Following the APPT tournament was the Asian Padel Invitational where the Philippine national team went head-to-head against teams from Japan, China, and Hong Kong.
Before the month ends, Padel Pilipinas will be hosting Philippine Padel Open 2024. The tournament will run from April 25-28 and May 2-5 at Play Padel, Mandaluyong. Players from all over the country and even abroad are expected to battle it out in six categories namely the Men’s Open, Women’s Open, Men’s Intermediate, Women’s Intermediate, Mixed Open, and Mixed Intermediate.
Post-match photos of Padel Pilipinas players (L-R) Raymark Gulfo, Sen. Pia Cayetano, Tao Yee Tan, and Argil Lance Cañizares.
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