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Cebuana Lhuillier-backed athletes eager to notch SEA Games gold

Jean Henri Lhuillier posing with some of the Cebuana Lhuillier Sports Ambassadors for Tennis who are bound for the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
By Kristoffer Ed Bellen

MANILA— Cebuana Lhuillier, the country's leading microfinancial services company, is more than optimistic about the chances of its sports ambassadors to pocket a gold medal for the Philippines in their own respective sporting events when they compete at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games from Nov 30-Dec 11.

In a statement on Monday night, Cebuana Lhuillier president and CEO and longtime sports patron Jean Henri Lhuillier voiced out his confidence with Cebuana Lhuillier Sports Ambassadors' strong chance to deliver a podium finish for the country given their recent successes in their previous professional and international tournaments.

“We are more than proud to support the SEA Games campaigns of the Blu Girls, Blu Boys, Niño [Alcantara], Treat [Huey], Ruben [Gonzales], and Jasmine [Alkhaldi]. These athletes have shown their mettle and has made the country proud countless times and I’m more than sure that their resolve to perform well in the upcoming games will be no different," Lhuillier, who also happens to be the president of the Unified Tennis Philippines, said.

Huey, Gonzales, and Alcantara, who all have been racking up titles over the last three years in the ITF World Tour, ATP Challenger Tour, and ATP Tour, will headline this year's national men's tennis team along with homegrown tennis players Jeson Patrombon and AJ Lim.

Huey, who is coming back to serve the Philippines after a one-year hiatus in the 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, reached his world number 18 ranking in the ATP doubles' rankings, highlighted by an ATP Finals appearance along with Belarusian tennis legend Max Mirnyi in 2016, under the guidance of Cebuana Lhuillier Sports, the sports civic engagement arm of Cebuana Lhuillier.

Gonzales and Huey, meanwhile, made a name in recent years in ITF Futures and ATP Challengers as both players also set their career-high rankings in the ATP doubles and ITF doubles tour last year.

Meanwhile, apart from Huey, Gonzales, and Alcantara, also seeing action in the prestigious biennial sporting event will be the RP Blu Girls and RP Blu Boys at the softball games.

Ranked as one of the top teams in the world, the RP Blu Girls and RP Blu Boys will go head to head against Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

With Cebuana Lhuillier’s backing, both teams have gone to various international competitions including the RP Blu Girls' recent fourth place finish at the recent WBSC Asia Oceania Olympic Qualifying Tournament.

Furthermore, veteran Olympian swimmer Alkhaldi has also set her sights on improving her performance in the upcoming games after racking up four bronze medals in the previous SEA Games and hopes to get a gold medal this time in the nine events she will be participating in to qualify to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Lhuillier has been a constant supporter of various sports in the country particularly in softball and tennis, both at the grassroots and international levels.

Cebuana Lhuillier’s sports ambassadors are part of the 1,868 athletes who will be competing in the 30th Southeast Asian Games which is by far, the biggest delegation since the Philippines last hosted in 2005.

Follow him on Twitter: @KristoffBellen