Story & Photos By Georgene Quilaton-Tambiga
Thomasian law tennis doubles team is going to the 2023 Palarong Pambansa in Marikina City.
Herman Illusorio and Kirby Ramacho are representing Western Visayas (Region VI) to the national stage of amateur tennis after they clinched the gold during the Western Visayas Regional Athletic Association Meet (WVRAA) in Aklan last April 2023.
Illusorio and Ramacho, who are incoming Grade 11 Thomasians, began training when they were only eight years old. Both have also been playing in the doubles category but for Illusorio, it will be his second Palarong Pambansa outing. Asked about tennis inspiration, the two come from different sides of the net. Ramacho looks up to the calm and collected playing strategy of Roger Federer while Illusorio is a huge fan of Novak Djokovic.
On the same Wimbledon page, both of them agree that the new champion Carlos Alcaraz brought a whole new level of energy and speed into the sport and that they both find the champion’s end to end ball chasing quite an amazing display of youth and athleticism.
Meanwhile, CST-R President Rev. Fr. Cristopher Maspara, OAR sent off the team with a light instruction, “Just enjoy the game.” The two, who just came from their daily morning training, merely smiled in agreement but they also made a promise to give the national stage their best shots.
