Fancied Paul Vivas and Roden Rivera lead men’s singles cast in the two-day event that also includes Gerard Certeza, Raymond Banez, Ramon Guerrero, Christopher Pilones, Rustum Caunga and Craig Lucas.
Joining the hunt for quarterfinal berths in the tournament sponsored by electronics giant JVC are Raymond Alonzo, Peter Magnaye, John Patriwirawan, Patrique Magnaye, Angelito Flores, Jed Perez, Peter Tuliao and Randolph Balatbat.
The girls side is headed by Valle Verde’s Janina Paredes, last year’s grand slam champion whose shutout victory over Sierra Bravo in the first round installed her as one of the favorites in her side of the event exclusively for players 14-years-old and below.
Out to foil her bid is the tandem of Mia Villarin and Monica Yupangco, who also posted lopsided victories in the mall-hopping tournament organized by the International Management Group.
JVC has tapped the various SM malls for the event in a bid to further help popularize the sport, including in Cebu and Iloilo where a series of clinics and exhibition matches will be held.
Launched last month at the SM North EDSA, the badminton clinics and exhibition matches will be held in Cebu on May 8-9 and in Iloilo on May 15-16.
The event, actually a prelude to the JVC National Open Championships, is supported by Alaska, Accel, Gosen, Toby’s Sports, Pioneer Insurance, Lactacyd, Tokyo Tokyo, The Philippine STAR, Agfa and Rudy Project.
Others vying for quarterfinal slots in the girls’ side are Karyn Velez, Valle Verde’s Lisa Encarnacion and Bulacan’s Clarissa Arellano, Chona Media and Kathleen Balatbat, Danica Bolos, Jamila Cruz, Carla Lizardo, Mariano Bantug, Abigail Garcia of DLS-Zobel, Bianca Legaspi, Jacklyn Cudia and Reyne Calimlim.