Mik Balce wins 7th tennis title in 10 months

Manuel “Mik” Balce III of Ateneo de Manila High School’s 10-C section emerged as champion of the  Cebuana Lhuillier Age Group Tennis Championship (18U boys division) last Dec. 31, 2015. Mik beat college player Chris Justin Prulla of National University in the finals, 6-1,6-1. The tournament was held at Camp Aguinaldo Tennis Club from Dec. 26-31, 2015.

The Cebuana Lhuillier championship is the seventh national lawn tennis title Mik has won in the last 10 months. In March 2015, he won the 16U boys title of the Henry Lee Memorial Age Group tennis championship. He beat the number 6 seeded player in the quarters, the no.1 seeded player in the semis, and the no. 2 seeded player in the finals. The Henry Lee tournament was held at the Manila Polo Club from March 26-31, 2015. The following month, Mik won two titles in two overlapping tournaments. On April 21, he emerged as 16U boys champion of the Alabang 1018 Age Group Tennis Tournament, which was held from April 16-21 at the Alabang Country Club. Five days later, he emerged as 16U champion of the 14th annual Toby’s-Wilson Summer Tennis Festival. The fourth-seeded Mik beat the no.1 seed in the championship (fellow Atenean Bong Gonzales), which was played at the Rizal Memorial Tennis Centre. The Toby’s-Wilson tournament was held from April 20- 26, 2015. The next month, Balce won both the 16U and 18U boys age divisions in the Milo Junior Tennis Cup Luzon which was held from May 13-18, 2015. On the last day of the tournament, he had to play three matches for a total of seven and a half hours. Following the Milo Cup wins, in June, Balce won the 16U category of the Globe-Head Graphene XP Junior Satellite Circuit 2015 Final Leg which was held in the Rizal Memorial Tennis Center from June 3-7, 2015.