Julius Otoc and Cyrelmae Sanchez headline a strong field seeking top honors and ranking points as the MJFC Araw ng Digos Juniors Age Group Tennis Championships fires off Wednesday, Sept. 2, at the Digos City courts in Davao del Sur.

Otoc and Sanchez are seeded No. 1 in the boys’ and girls’ 18-and-under division, respectively, with both also seeing action in the 16-and-U category, albeit with lower seeding. The weeklong Group 2 tournament ushers in the Palawan Pawnshop Mindanao swing, which also features legs in Sultan Kudarat and Cotabato.

Seeking to spoil the top seeds’ bids for championship honors and valuable ranking points are Jhazz Fernando, Kurt Alcantara and Shaun Globasa in the boys’ 18-and-U division, and Aika Salahuddin, Marxian Sira and Dyan Placa in the girls’ side.

Cristiano Calingasan heads the boys’ 16-and-U cast, with Otoc seeded No. 2, followed by Kresthan Belacas, Kyle Ramos, Rein Hayana, Krisnel Batilo, Carlo Eduarte and Richlord Sira.

Multi-titled Francine Wong leads the girls’ 16-and-U field, which also includes Justine Gumbao, Sanchez, Teresinha Calingasan, Kyth Solis, Marxian Sira, Placa and Dominique Calingasan.

Belacas, another multi-winner in the nationwide junior circuit, tops the boys’ 14-and-under cast alongside Archie Roceta, Xian Sugsi and Andrei Domasing. Wong is likewise tipped to make a strong run in the girls’ 14-and-U division, which includes Gumbao and sisters Teresinha and Dominique Calingasan.

Domasing and Arissa Macapendeg headline the youngest 12-and-U division of the tournament, supported by ICON Golf & Sports and the Palawan Group of Companies.

The Mindanao swing is part of the nationwide junior tennis series put up by Palawan Pawnshop president and CEO Bobby Castro, whose program seeks to bring competitive junior tennis closer to the countryside, where a growing number of promising players are emerging but often lack opportunities to test themselves in high-level competition.

The tournament is hosted by Mayor Josef Fortich Cagas and sanctioned by Philta and Universal Tennis Rating.

Aside from the singles events, titles are also at stake in the boys’ and girls’ 14-and-U and 18-and-U doubles competitions.

Meanwhile, Sultan Kudarat will host the next leg on Sept. 10-15 for the Bagong Pilipinas age-group tournament, with the Capital Indoor and Outdoor courts in Isulan serving as venue. The circuit then winds up in Cotabato with the Kidapawan Juniors Championship on Sept. 16-22 at the Kidapawan City courts.