By KRISTEL SATUMBAGA
The Philippines clobbered Kuwait, 3-0, to stay unbeaten and bolster its campaign in the Davis Cup Asia Oceania Group IV in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday, July 18.
Jed Olivarez bucked a second-set hiccup and turned back Ali Alshati, 7-5, 4-6, 6-0, in the first singles before AJ Lim followed it up with a dominant 6-4, 6-1 victory over Baderl Alabdullah, in the second singles.
Francis Casey Alcantara and Arthur Craig Patino secured the tie win after Alshati and Alabdulla retired in their doubles duel while the Kuwaitis were trailing 1-2.
It was the second straight victory for the Filipinos after drubbing Pacific Oceania the other day with a similar 3-0 score. It tied them with Qatar, which were also unbeaten with identical 2-1 triumphs over Pacific Oceania and Kuwait.
The Filipinos and the Qataris are playing at press time to determine the Pool standings and pairing for the promotional playoff where the top team in each pool will play against the nation finishing second in the other pool.
The winners in these two promotional playoffs will advance to Group III.
Pool A has Malaysia and Kyrgyzstan at the helm with similar 2-0 win-loss records, with Iraq and Nepal both winless in two ties.
