Asuncions stun foes in JVC badminton tiff

Kennevic and Kennie Asuncion overwhelmed the opposition in men’s and women’s singles and advanced to the semifinal round yesterday of the 2002 JVC Open Badminton Championships before an appreciative crowd at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati.

Top-ranked Kennevic powdered Prospero Aguilar with consummate ease, 15-0, 15-2, and booked a semifinal ticket in the men’s semifinals of the tournament staged by the International Management Group and supported by Yonex, Pioneer Allianz, Philippine STAR, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, National Sports Grill, Rudy Project, Tokyo Tokyo, Accel and 103.5 K Lite.

He next battles Army’s Arolas Amahit, who blasted Wally Fernandez, 15-6, 15-2.

Second seed Ian Piencenaves of Army went through a wringer before disposing of Reynaldo Selga of UST, 15-7, 15-6, to reach the semifinals where he will fight Antonio Mance, Jr., who came back from a first set loss to overcome Rodel Bartolome of Air Force-UP Diliman, 11-15, 15-10, 15-5.

His sister Kennie bundled out Sandy Banguiles of UST, 11-0,11-1 to enter the semifinals against Michelle Guerrero, 11-9, 11-0 winner over Alida Fay Santos of the Nazil Badminton Club.

In ladies doubles, former PSC commissioner and Olympian Amparo "Weena" Lim was back in her old form as she and partner Kennevic thumped Thea del Rosario and Inyo Octavian, a former Indonesian national player, 15-5, 15-3.

The duo will oppose Hannah Javelosa-Vida Chua, who downed Deress Ann Sy- Banguiles, 15-3, 7-15, 17-16.

The other semifinalists are sisters Michelle and Raquel Guerrero who won over Michelle de Jesus-Dianah Barbo of the PNP Badminton Club, 15-11, 15-13, and Alma Ledesma-Margarita Manalang who topped Lee-Diaz, 15-11, 15-3.

In men’s doubles, Asuncion and partner Wally Fernandez defeated the partnership of Paul Arm as and Alex Cuevas of UE-Air Force, 15-6, 17-5, to set a semifinal date with the pair of Amahit-Piencenaves, who waylaid Joseph Bennedick de Guzman-Ryan Conde of UST, 15-4, 15-0.

The other semifinal match pits Brandon Chan-Naresh Ramnani against Reynaldo Selga-Ricky Bartolome of UST.

A celebrity event, sidelight of the JVC Open, features celebrities Richard Gomez, Marvin Agustin, Bojo Molina, Mariz Ricketts, Marjorie Barretto, Dennis Padilla and Ruby Rodriguez.