THE Philippines has home-court advantage, but Pakistan is still expected to play tough in the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group II second-round tie from July 10 to 12 at the Philippine Columbian Association (PCA) courts.

The tie will be played on shell, which should be an advantage for the locals, but officials do not want to be overconfident because they believe Pakistan is tougher than their rivals in the next round.

“My fearless forecast is that we should win by at least 3-2 against Pakistan,” Philippine Lawn Tennis Association Davis Cup administrator Randy Villanueva said during Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at the Shakey’s United Nations Avenue.

“Eto ’yung mabigat na tie,” said nonplaying captain Chris Cuarto. “We have better chances in the next round basta ma-hurdle lang natin ang Pakistan.”

“I think we have more time to practice on shell. Pakistan would always want to play on a fast court like grass. Putting them in a slower court will be our advantage,” added Villanueva.

The RP team will still be represented by Cecil Mamiit, Treat Conrad Huey, Francis Casey Alcantara and Patrick John Tierro—the same quartet that propelled the country to a 4-1 victory over Hong Kong in the first round.

After the Hong Kong tie, Mamiit and Huey played in various International Tennis Federation (ITF) Challenger tournaments while Alcantara competed in different ITF Juniors tournament, including Wimbledon and Australian Open where he won the boys’ doubles event with Cheng-Peng Hsieh of Taipei. Tierro played two tournaments in Malaysia.

“Ever since the Hong Kong tie, overall, the team played 20 different tournaments so the team is well-prepared,” said Villanueva in the forum, sponsored by Outlast Battery, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Accel and Shakey’s.

The winner will face either Indonesia or New Zealand in September for a slot in Group I, and Cuarto said that tie would be easier than the tie against Pakistan.

The tie was supposed to be played in Pakistan but political unrest in the country forced the ITF to move the match to the Philippines.

The Pakistanis, who arrived on Friday night, is composed of Aisam Qureshi, Ageel Khan, Jalil Khan and Yasir Khan. Qureshi and Ageel Khan won their matches when they beat Oman, 4-1, in the first round.