Alex Eala’s near-misses spark frustration; George King poised to elevate Blackwater’s game

by Dennis Eroa

The continued near-misses of Filipina tennis star Alex Eala are getting not only on my nerves but to her loyal fans. Eala’s failure to enter the main draw of Grand Slams and other moneyed international tennis tournaments abroad is getting regular and netizens aren’t amused.

I, for one, who has followed her career am so unhappy that it is clear to fans that it’s high time for this attractive lass to change course.

Alex Eala [photo from Alex Eala Facebook]

Not that I want her to join beauty contests or be an online seller not only of things related to sports but she’ll make a good blogger, too.

The records will not lie. Just recently, Eala, the number 148 in the world toughened by the Rafa Nadal Academy, failed to reach the main draws of the Shanghai Masters and the WTA 500 Ningbo tournament. She lost in the first round of qualifying.

Well, if there are plus points for being beautiful, then our bet should be a sure winner during a gathering of competitors. She stood out among the participants during a night honoring the players.

This prompted netizens to express their frustrations. Most of the netizens pointed out that instead of improving her game, particularly her service game and mental toughness, Eala’s main focus is to look fresh and good using social media.

Jerry Valdez was brutal: “Eala is the most overrated and over-hyped Filipina tennis player in the world. Retire.”

Top fan Graham Campbell said Eala’s competitive but her game is basic due to her weak service game and a baseline game with no variation.

I’m not going to tell Alex to retire or have a boyfriend for inspiration as suggested by Jonjie Bluehands (not his real name), but I strongly suggest that she change her coaching staff.

With the losses piling up, Alex must do some soul-searching and correct the flaws in her game. She’s still young but it seems to me she can’t compete with powerful and taller players now lording it over professional tennis.

Look, she faltered in the final qualifying round in the US Open against Romanian Elena Gabriela Ruse. She missed history by becoming the first Filipina to enter the main draw of a Grand Slam.

She also failed in Wimbledon and Australian Open qualifiers. Filipino tennis fans were saddened when Eala fell one win short of making the main draw of the French Open when she fell to Argentinian Julia Reira in three hard-fought sets.

Still, Alex is still young and there’s hope if she’ll listen to this old warrior, whose tennis career didn’t blossom due to a weak backhand and being sidelined by health reasons. I, for one, will continue to believe in her capability to bounce back.

Find a new coach and conditioning mentor. Add more power and do some soul-searching. Open your mind to new tactics. Don’t live and die in the baseline because your opponents will bully you with powerful groundstrokes.

Your service game is questionable and I want you to gamble and take risks. Firstly, pray to the Almighty to give you the strength and willpower to
succeed.

Blackwater’s George King unafraid

Blackwater Elite, who made the favored teams nervous by missing the PBA Governors’ Cup playoffs with a whisker, is betting on the returning George McZavier King Jr. to create gigantic waves in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

The 6-foot-5 all-around player will go up against taller and powerful imports but Dioceldo Sy, the ever-positive and risk-taker, very happily announced the signing of King for a second tour of duty with the Elite.

And King is embracing the role of somebody from outer space, who will bring Blackwater to the promised land.

“He wants to finish an unfinised business,” said Sy, whose ability to make good judgments and quick decisions, resulted in the Philippines’ no. 1 local cosmetics company named Ever Bilena.

Dioceldo is now semi-retired and enjoying life while traveling around the world.

King was unstoppable in his last game as he finished with a franchise record 64 points against Rain or Shine, 139-118. With his blazing guns, Blackwater recovered from a sorry start to finish the tournament with a 5-5 win-loss slate, NLEX also finished with the same record but advanced due to better quotient.

The King is ready to reign.

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Dennis Eroa

Columnist at Sports Bytes PH

After 25 years of working with the Inquirer Group of Companies, Dennis decided to make an early retirement due to the pandemic. Formerly a college editor of UE’s The Dawn, Dennis learned the craft from the country’s leading chroniclers of sports namely Recah Trinidad, Al Mendoza,Jimmy Cantor, Chito Manuel and the late Larry Galvez, Doc Inigo and Tito Tagle. In the early 90s, Dennis became a section editor of Riyadh Daily, Saudi Arabia’s first English newspaper. He is an active member and officer of the Philippine Sportswriters Association, Tabloids Organization in Philippines and the Sports Communicators Organization in the Philippines, He covered local and international sporting events while working at Sports Flash, Malaya, Headline, Evening Standard, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Libre and Bandera.