KOTA KINABALU–The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Kate Middleton, are here. They arrived at 7:50 P.M. last Friday from Kuala Lumpur. Their place of stay in KK? Of course, the Shangri-La beach resort in Tanjung Aru.

Yesterday, they were scheduled to fly via helicopter to Sabah’s Danum Valley, one of the world’s oldest rainforests (130 millions years old). The royal couple is expected to stroll across the famous 300-meter long, 27-meter high Canopy Walk in Danum Valley. Says David Jr (blog.malaysia-asia.my) of Danum Valley: “The forest reserve is also one of the most pristine where it caters to a vast reserve of lush tropical lowland forest rich in Sabah’s unique flora and fauna. The area has also been recognized as one of the world’s most complex ecosystems catering to all kinds of flora and fauna.”

Today is also special in this “Truly Asia” country because it’s Malaysia Day. It was on Sept. 16, 1963 — 49 years ago — when, according to Wikipedia, the date “marked the joining together of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore to form Malaysia.”

We’ve been in Malaysia since Sept. 4 when we arrived in Kuching, Sarawak. After seven days there, we transferred to our present base, Kota Kinabalu (KK). Finally, we head back home tomorrow.

My daughter Jana is here joining dozens of other top tennis players from all over Asia for twin tournaments in Kuching and KK called the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) 14-and-under Championships.

Thus far, Jana has played 10 matches in nine days. She played four singles matches in Kuching (won three, lost one) and another four in KK (also won three, lost one). She ranked 9th out of 18 players in Kuching and, here in KK, she’ll also be No. 9-ranked (out of 24 players) if she wins her final match today. With doubles, she won once and lost once to reach the quarterfinals with Khim Iglupas. Good results for Jana’s first-ever international stint.

FUN. Tennis is not easy. Unlike team sports where, if your team loses, you have your teammates to commiserate with, in tennis, it’s one-on-one. A coach is not even allowed to sit beside you. Thus, there’s no one to blame but yourself if you lose. This is tough. It’s especially tough on 13-year-olds.

And so, to lessen the stress of competition, organizers have come up with gimmicks. One is the Fellowship Night. The Kuching event held theirs on Day Two. It was at the Top Spot Seafood rooftop where the participants, instead of wearing tennis attire, wore jeans and normal (not tennis) shoes.

Last Thursday night here in KK, all the children, parents and coaches boarded two buses and were ferried to the Kampung Nelayan Seafood Market Restaurant. It’s a for-tourists site that’s surrounded by a lake. At the front was a stage where a cultural/variety show was performed. Some players tried the “singkil” dance while photos were snapped. We ate crabs and fresh shrimps; the dessert was gelatin poured in a buko shell. Food and smiles were plenty.

Throughout this trip, my wife Jasmin and I have been reminding Jana: Isn’t sports amazing? Fun? Fulfilling? You get to travel. You get to visit new cities. You get to join an important event. And, most of all–and this is what we stress upon her, more than the winning and losing–you get to meet new friends. After this week, she has teenage friends from Chennai, Shanghai, Penang, Jakarta, Beijing, Tokyo, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. And these are not ordinary friends–these are the same girls and boys you’ve spent hours and hours with on-court, everyone sweating, burning under the noontime Malaysian sun, sprinting for backhands and volleys.

For me, personally, this trip is extra special because it’s a long-time wish that I’m watching unfold. I started tennis at the “late” age of 14 and, though I ranked No. 5 nationally in the juniors, I did not have enough time to compete internationally.

To cheer for my 13-year-old daughter during Malaysia Day is a dream come true. To all parents, I wish the same experience for you. Get your children into sports.

Kota Kinabalu, MALAYSIA—There are plenty of Pinoys here. Minutes after we arrived last Monday, we visited KK’s famous beach, Tanjung Aru. The girl we ordered sate barbeque from? She’s from Talisay, Cebu. Our taxi driver? His name is Abdul. He studied in Zamboanga. Their famous souvenir spot? It’s called “Filipino Village.” Almost everyone here can speak a few lines of Tagalog. And, if you study the map, Kota Kinabalu is much nearer Palawan and Zamboanga than it is to Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur.

KK is a resort city. You notice plenty of tourists strolling by the waterfront. Shangri-La Resort operates two spots here: the Rasa Ria and the Tanjung Aru. Our very own Lapu-Lapu City in Mactan can pattern itself from KK. This place has wide-open roads (lots of cyclists here), it’s generally clean and, like Singapore, is forest-like: millions of trees sprout and grow. The Philippines? If we want to be “Truly Asia” like Malaysia, we ought to plant more plants.

KK is famous for two outdoor adventures: island-hopping and mountain-climbing. White-sand beaches on small islands are found nearby. And, if you prefer the hilltops, the must-do activity is climbing Mount Kinabalu, listed as the 20th most prominent peak in the world at 13,435 feet. (The famous Mt. Kinabalu International Climbathon is held every October.)

Sadly, our group here can neither island-hop nor climb mountains. We’re stuck facing a rectangular surface called the tennis court — here together with some of the top Asian juniors for the 3rd Sabah/Malaysia Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) 14-and-Under Championships.

Before tennis-talk, we’ve had the chance to visit a few other spots: The Sabah Museum. Paying 15 Ringgit each (one ringgit is equivalent to PhP13.50), Jasmin, Jana and I visited a mostly-empty museum. At the entrance, the skeletal remains of a giant whale greeted us. They also have centuries-old ceramic figures, art works and stuffed animals – not the most thrilling sight for 13-year-old Jana.

We entered their largest mall, Suria Sabah. Slightly smaller than Ayala Center, it’s stocked with famous branded shops: Starbucks, KFC, Kenny Rogers, Coach, Rip Curl. But, shocking to see, hardly anyone was there. The mall is a year old and plenty of stalls are still vacant. Asking the taxi driver why few people roamed the mall, he said that locals found the goods expensive. And guess who owns the mall? “KK’s governor and the chief minister,” said the driver. Here, politics and business mix!

We’re staying at the Likas Square Condotel. For a reasonable P3,000/night, our hotel unit has a huge balcony, a sala and dining area, kitchen facilities, and three air-conditioned rooms with two T/Bs. Six of us are sharing the space: three players (Jana, Iggy and Khim) and three parents (Lourdes Pantino, Jasmin and I).

Likas Square Condotel is not near the city (15 minutes away) but it’s only an 8-minute walk away from the Likas Sports Complex, which houses 11 tennis courts. The Likas Sports Complex is KK’s version of Manila’s Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. We jogged on their rubberized track oval. (Sports editor Mike Limpag will love this: the grass on their soccer field is pristine green and ready for play!)

The 3rd Sabah/Malaysia Under-14 Tennis Championships started yesterday. This event has attracted players from many nations: India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, Iran, China, Singapore, Thailand, Chinese-Taipei, Korea and, of course, Malaysia.

From the Philippines, we have four entries: Jana Pages, Iggy Pantino, Khim Iglupas and Eric “Jed” Olivarez, Jr., who won last week’s singles and doubles boys’ competition in Kuching.

Yesterday, Jana won her first singles match yesterday, besting Malaysia’s Aznor Cristina Azri, 6-1, 6-0. Khim beat Nadhila Astuti, 6-2, 6-1, and Iggy Pantino won over Naufai Kamaruzzam of Malaysia, 6-1, 6-2. In doubles, Jana and Khim defeated last week’s semifinalists, the Chinese pair of Ma and Lu, 6-2, 6-3. Today, the battle in Malaysia continues…

Jed Olivarez, Iggy Pantino and Jana Pages

Rafa Villanueva

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The Girls finalists

Boys finalists

Photo from itfsarawak.com

Kuching, MALAYSIA–The City of Kuching is much like Cebu, only smaller. Their biggest mall here is called The Spring. But, compared to our SM City or Ayala Center, theirs offers less tenants and food stops.

We’ve been here since Tuesday. After five days of smashes and drop volleys, the 8th Sarawak Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) Under-14 (Years Old) Tennis Championships finally ends today.

How did Team Philippines do? In the Boys 14 category, Jed Olivarez of Manila will play Daisuke Sumizawa of Japan in the best-of-three final this morning. The 13-year-old Olivarez, the nephew of Philta president (and Congressman) Edwin Olivarez, faced a tough semifinal match yesterday. He was down a match point but prevailed, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6.

Iggy Pantino, our very own from Cebu, also did well. Against much taller 14-year-olds, the 11-year-old USC student won three matches and lost two.

Girls? Our best showing was the runner-up finish in the Doubles of Rafa Villanueva and Khym Iglupas, who held two match points in the 3rd set super-tiebreak before losing to an Indian pairing.

Dato Patrick Liew (center) with the doubles finalists including Khym Iglupas and Rafa Villanueva (left)

My daughter Jana did well. Despite losing in the first round against the 3rd seed (Kaaviya Balasubram of India), she won her next three matches. First, against Kuala Lumpur-based Tara Afzalirad of Iran. Their score: 6-1, 6-0. Two days ago, she faced one of Kuching’s top Under-14 players (Kristin Leong) and beat her, 6-1, 6-1. Then, yesterday, under the scorching heat of Malaysia, she beat the Beijing-based Chinese player, Lu Hui Ting, 6-1, 6-2.

Three wins. One loss. Good result for Jana. This is her first international tournament. And while before she’d say she had beaten or lost to someone from Cagayan de Oro or Davao or Bacolod, this time, she can say this: She lost to a player from India and beat others from Iran, Malaysia and China.

What a terrific experience for a 13-year-old. As parents, Jasmin and I are so proud of Jana. And we wish the same fulfillment for all parents who convince their children to do sports.

This is the beauty of sports. You get to compete. You get to travel. You get to meet different people from various nations.

TENNIS CENTRE. The venue? It’s the sprawling Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association courts. It has 12 hard-courts near the center of town and they plan to build five more. In the whole of Malaysia, it appears that Kuching is the tennis capital. They have the U14 Asian Championships plus several more ITF events throughout the year.

The Tennis Centre employs three full-time coaches, all Cebuanos: Ariel Logroño, Brian Kintanar and Francis Largo. Not too long ago, Janji Soquiño was here (he’s now in Singapore). So was Adonis Lominoque.

Tennis is not the only sport in this complex. There are basketball courts, futsal and volleyball grounds, skate-boarding facilities and a soon-to-be-finished mountain-biking facility with lights. Kudos to the man behind the sports and tennis center: the SLTA president, Dato Patrick Liew.

REGATTA. Next week is an even bigger sporting event: the Sarawak Regatta, which begins on Sept. 14. How long has this event been going on?

It started in 1872. Yes, no misprint there: This is a 140 year-old event. The website, sarawakregatta.com, offers plenty of information on next week’s race: there are competitions for 7 paddlers (Balok Boat), for 15, 20 and 30 paddlers. Reads the website: “The day programme include races for traditional longboats, dragon boats and other activities, like the running of totolizers, climbing greasing poles, catching ducks and ‘pillow fights.’ Racing boats from outstations made it a grand affair and also a great occasion for families from outside the State Capital to visit Kuching town.”

What’s unique about this event is that it’s not only open to professional rowers but also to tourists. Anybody can participate in this sports festival.

Sayang. Would have joined the longboat competition that streams across the Sarawak River. Will report on Tuesday from our next stop: Kota Kinabalu.

Jana and Rafa

With Tara Afzalirad

Jana with Kristin Leong of Malaysia

Last match with Lu Hui Ting of China

Kuching, MALAYSIA—Jasmin, Jana and I are in the island of Borneo. If you visit Google Maps, you’ll notice that this huge land mass is close to Palawan—but it doesn’t belong to the Philippines; instead, Borneo is subdivided by three nations: Indonesia to the south, tiny Brunei in the middle, and Malaysia on the northeast.

Kuching City is the capital of the State of Sarawak in Malaysia. Comparing the geographies of the two, Kuching has a bigger land area (431 sq. kms.) versus Cebu City’s 315. Population-wise, we’re about even with one million residents.

We arrived in Kuching two afternoons ago, flying via Tiger Airways from Singapore. My daughter Jana, who’s 13, is joining the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF) Under-14 Championships.

In her first match yesterday, she faced the tournament’s 3rd seed, a seasoned player from India, Kaaviya Balasubramaniam, who’s ranked 27th in Asia based on the ATF points.

In the first set, Jana raced to a 4-2 lead before her opponent won 5 of the next 6 games. In Set Two, it was another close fight before Kaaviya won the match, 7-5, 6-4.

The match was both hotly-contested and hot. Hotly-contested because the exchanges and games were close; a few points here or there could have swung the favor for Jana.

Hot? The match started past 11 A.M. and finished by 2 P.M. Over 2 ½ hours and no relief from the raging sun. The heat sizzled and scorched. Sure, Cebu is hot during the month of May–but Kuching is hotter during rainy September. And with the hard-court surface, Jana said that her feet were being cooked. (Oddly, it rained hard the whole of yesterday late afternoon.)

Despite the loss, it was a good first-ever-international match for Jana. The atmosphere and venues are completely different from Davao or Manila. The venue is the 12-hard-court Sarawak Lawn Tennis Association Tennis Centre (SLTA), right at the center of town.

Arthur Craig “Iggy” Pantino, only 11 but playing in the U14, fought hard but lost to a much older and more experienced player. The score: 6-4, 6-4. Iggy is accompanied here by his mom, Lourdes.

The Sarawak Tennis Centre has three Cebuano coaches here now: Ariel Logroño, Brian Kintanar and Francis Largo. It was good seeing Ariel, a friend I’ve known since the Sancase Tennis Club days.

What’s good with this tournament is that it’s not a knock-out system. It’s a round-robin format where all players are guaranteed five matches in five days. That’s good! Imagine traveling this far and losing in the first round. This is terrific exposure for the young athletes.

The president of the Sarawak Tennis Centre is Dato Patrick Liew. We met him the past couple of days and, apart from being super-friendly, he’s a top businessman and sportsman. And, in two years’ time, he’ll run for mayor of Kuching.

Enough of tennis… We’re staying on the 15th floor of the Merdeka Palace Hotel, a giant edifice overlooking the city. We’re together with Randy Villanueva, one of the top officials of the Philippine Tennis Association, who brought along his daughter Rafa (who won her first match yesterday in a three-hour thriller).

The food here in Kuching is splendid. Randy brought us to Top Spot, on the 6th floor of a building where fresh seafood abound. It’s like our Sutokil (of Lapu-Lapu City), only cleaner and more organized. We had buttered prawns, calamares, a big fish that resembled our pampano, spicy vegetables (that’s unique to this place) and talaba (oyster) that’s prepared on a crunchy, Kropek-like edible plate.

Even the tennis court canteen food is excellent. We ordered two versions (dry and wet) of their Pad Thai (though they call it by a different name).

Kuching? The word “Kuching” actually means “cat” in Malay. (In our walk after dinner along the Kuching streets, guess what we saw sprint in front of us, surprising our group? Of course, a kuching!)

Plus, there are plenty of words similar to ours. In Ilonggo, cat is “kuring,” very near to “kuching.” Here are some words: “daan” and “jalan,” “hangin” and “angin,” “tamis” and “manis,” “ulan” and “hujan,” “uban” (white hair) is also “uban” (ha ha), “tanghali” and “tengah hari.”