I have to give it to Peugeot. Last year it hosted a tennis tournament that is open to all, including our nationally ranked players. A huge success, the winners were brought to the 2016 French Open at the famed Roland Garros clay courts in Paris. So magical was the winners’ ringside experience in Peugeot’s initial foray at developmental tennis that it became a clubhouse talk long after it is over. I can only raise a glass to Peugeot.
This year Peugeot had a new tack in that it invited a different breed of tennis players: the fortysomethings and above.
“We always dare to be different, because we always endeavor to go for the jugular,” said Glen “Mr. Dapper” Dasig, the youthful president of Peugeot Philippines. “This year we focused on potential Peugeot buyers themselves—those tennis-playing bunch with the capacity to buy cars of distinction.”
What could be a more classy drive empowered with a distinct trait of its own than the Peugeot, that iconic French automobile now making a big dent on the volatile vehicle market—consistently, that is? Already, even our most discriminating of car buffs are now being auspiciously enamored with Peugeot, even if it is still considered the new kid on the block.
To prepare for the herculean mission, Dong Magsajo embarked on going “house-to-house” to virtually all the tennis clubs he could lay his hands on.
“It was one of the most difficult jobs I’ve ever done,” said Magsajo, the former motoring journalist/columnist who is now Peugeot’s business development director.
Dong assembled 192 players classified into twosomes clashing in three age divisions from March 10 to 12: 40 to 49 in both the male and female categories, and 50 and above only in the male segment.
In holding the tournament, Peugeot sort of established a world record by staging 32 rounds, and completing them in just three days! “It was, indeed, a marathon tennis,” Magsajo said. “Some matches extended even up to midnight. But the beauty of it is, despite the hectic schedule, our participants expressed unabashed satisfaction in the end.”
The winners at Valle Verde are:
- Women’s 40 and above: Michelle Mendoza (housewife) and Ching Henson (operations manager, Golden “H” Delivery Services) of Team Hillsborough Lhuillier
- Men’s 40-49: Engineer Edd Ventura and lawyer Jason Benitez (JD Benitez Law Office) of Team New Capitol Estate
- Men’s 50-and-above: Jackie Tomacruz (development head, Isuzu Philippines) and Rolly Oliquino (project development head, PNOC Exploration Corp.) of Team Hillsborough Lhuillier
During the award ceremonies, JL Daez, Peugeot marketing and communications manager, said Dasig made an announcement that happily surprised the audience: Raffle off two more tickets to the French Open set in June.
The winners were Manolo Fernandez and Naresh Ramnani of Team Valle Verde.
“It was surreal,” the duo said. “We weren’t expecting this.”
Dasig said, “Peugeot and tennis share a deep connection, which is why we are very passionate about it. This tournament is proof of our commitment to supporting, such a strong tennis community here in the Philippines.”
All four pairs will get to watch the French Open quarterfinals, visit the Peugeot headquarters and Peugeot Avenue and tour Paris on the third and final day of their official itinerary.
“The trip will also be a wonderful opportunity for our champions to experience and appreciate the Peugeot brand in its home country,” Magsajo said.
But the awards night did not end without yet another surprise announcement.
“Due to the immense success of this tournament, Peugeot Philippines will stage it again in October,” said Karen Carvajal, Peugeot marketing director. “This time, the winners will get the chance to watch the Australian Open live in January 2018. Details will be announced soon in our social pages and our web site.”
Deafening applause ensued. But, of course.
Time and again, we see car companies staging golf tournaments. But with Peugeot’s consistent thrusts in penetrating the tennis segment, the iconic French automobile has been breaking barriers worth looking into.
Hail, Peugeot!
PEE STOP Congratulations to my compadre, Ding Marcelo, for winning the Altis raffled off during the MVP Golf Cup at Manila Golf Club. The car was donated by Toyota Motors Philippines (TMP)….But what is this I hear that Jigo Vidanes is leaving TMP? The kid is good; he was a major player in many TMP events, mainly on the area of shepherding motoring journalists. Certainly, TMP’s loss is Unilab’s gain. Good luck, Jigo.