P1 million pot at stake in PBaRS tourney

MANILA, Philippines –  The country’s leading and rising badminton stars get a chance to vie for big prizes and ranking points when the PBaRS (Philippine Badminton Ranking System) tournament kicks off its inaugural season on March 27 at PowerSmash in Makati.

A total prize pot of P700,000 will be up for grabs in the centerpiece Open division with the winners in the men’s and ladies singles getting P70,000 each and the doubles and the mixed doubles champions receiving P70,000 per pair. The runners-up will receive P35,000 individually and by pairs in the doubles while the semifinalists and quarterfinalists will take home P10,500 and P3,500 each for singles and as doubles pairs, respectively.

The Under-19 category will offer a total purse of P200,000 while P100,000 will be staked in the Under-15 category of the P1 million tournament, the first of the four-leg nationwide circuit held to level the players according to their strength.

Registration ends at 6 tonight at the PbaRS office at 20 E. Maclang St. along P. Guevarra, San Juan. For details, call 725-2568 or telefax 725-4942 or log on to www.pbars.com.

Over 500 players have so far filled up the roster in the event sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation-Goal Pilipinas! and Yonex-Sunrise, with entries coming from Valenzuela, Bulacan, Rizal, Zambales, Navotas, Laguna, Cavite, Antipolo, Las Piñas, Pampanga and Muntinlupa.

“We expect hundreds more to beat the deadline today as many teams have requested for an extension since their players are busy on their exams and graduations,” said tournament chairman Nelson Asuncion.

The Philippine Badminton Ranking System will be launched tomorrow at 4 p.m. at the Robinsons Manila Midtown New Wing.

Gracing the rites are Vice President Jejomar Binay and PLDT chairman Manny V. Pangilinan. Expected to attend are the officials of the Philippine Olympic Committee, the Philippine Sports Commission and the MVP Sports Foundation heads who are all supporting the event.

There will be no seeding of players for the first leg. The draw will be done using by the computerized system right after the launch of the event backed by Yonex-Sunrise, Gatorade and Powersmash with The Philippine STAR, TV5, Jam 88.3, Wave 89.1, Magic 89.9, 99.5 RT and 103.5 WOW! as media partners.

The elims will be played at PowerSmash until April 1 with the semis and finals set at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City on April 2-3.

Meanwhile, Bacolod will host the second on May 29-June 4 while Davao will stage the third leg on July 31-Aug. 6. This will give players in the provinces the chance to play in top-level competitions.

The circuit, aimed at further raising the level of play in the country and at the same time coming up with a truly national ranking system, will culminate in the VP Grand Prix Badminton Open Championships on Oct. 22-29 in Manila.