DAVAO CITY — Around 200 athletes expressed willingness to join the 11th edition of the Elias P. Dacudao Memorial Cup Tennis Championships from 25 to 30 November at the Aqua verde Sports and Leisure grounds in Bangkal here.

Tournament chairman Bong Diong said the highly-anticipated event that is making a return this year had drawn promising netters not just from the Davao Region but from other parts of the country as well.

“There will be players from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. We are happy to be back since missing this tournament last year,” said Diong, a former Davis Cup campaigner, during the Davao Sportswriters Association Forum last Thursday.

Together with tournament consultant Ayi Roca, Diong added that competitors will vie for pride and glory in the 18U, 16U, 14U, 12U and 10U divisions.

“On our opening day we expected the players along with the Dacudao/Garcia families and our sponsors to grace the rites,” Roca said.

Diong added that the tourney aims to provide exposure to the kids, helping them land athletic scholarships through tennis.

“The tournament, now in its 11th year held in honor of the late former player and sports patron, serves as an opportunity for kids to show their wares and probably earn scholarships,” Diong said.

The tournament is a Group 1 sanctioned by Philippine Tennis Association, which follows the best-of-three-set mode of play with medal trophies as well as valuable ranking points.