MANILA, Philippines - Toby Gadi and Paul Vivas fashioned out a pair of 30-minute romps to launch their campaign in the men’s Open singles of the VP Binay Grand Prix Badminton Open Championships-PBaRS fourth leg yesterday while Bianca Carlos, Elisha Ongcuangco and Malvinne Alcala got going in the girls’ Under-19 side at Powersmash in Makati.
Gadi went through some anxious moments in the second set but finished off a tough Kevin Alcantara in two just the same, 21-10, 21-18, to kick off his bid for a sweep of the four leg titles in the P1 million national ranking tournament co-presented by MVP Sports Foundation and Robinsons Land.
The second seeded Vivas also encountered stiff resistance from Allen del Mundo, hacking out a 21-15, 21-18 decision to start his own drive in the lower half of the 128-player draw of the event sponsored by PLDT Smart Foundation, Robinsons Mall, Gatorade and official equipment sponsor Victor, exclusively distributed by PCOME Industrial Sales, Inc.
Andrei Babad of Phl-Victor posted the day’s first reversal, upending No. 7 Ariel delos Santos, 21-17, 25-23, for a third round showdown with Arthur Espiritu, who subdued Christian Torres, 21-18, 21-13.
No. 3 Gabriel Magnaye made short work of Reden Cuden, 21-6, 21-8; No. 4 Joper Escueta held off Ramon Dalo, 22-20, 21-14; No. 5 Wilfred Natividad downed Angelo Ticala, 21-9, 21-6; No. 6 Jaime Junior Jr. won by default over Jaime Villanueva, No. 8 Kevin Dalisay survived Jon Masongsong, 21-18, 16-21, 21-10; No. 9 Carlos Cayanan defused Patricque Magnaye, 21-17, 21-16; and No. 10 Charlo Tengco toppled Vince Tan, 21-15, 21-9.
Carlos, also eyeing a sweep of the U-19 titles of the event held under the auspices of the Philippine Badminton Association and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, outplayed Thea Pomar, 21-9, 21-11, to set up a third round duel with Ingrid Obnial, a 21-7, 21-6 winner over Caitlin Yu.
The No. 2 Ongcuango proved more convincing, giving just two points to Aliya Castillo for a 21-1, 21-1 romp in the lower bracket although she is expected to have her hands full against Flo Lamigo in the next round after the latter disposed of Pebbles Lee, 21-10, 21-12.
But focus will also be on Alcala, considered as the country’s leading player today, as the reigning Singapore and Australian Juniors champion blasted her way to the third round with a 21-9, 21-9 romp over Mitzel Buiza.
If they play true to form, Alcala, also a favorite in the women’s Open singles, and Ongcuangco are tipped to bump into each other in the semifinal round of the event put up by Vice President and PBA president Jejomar Binay, Rep. Albee Benitez and businessman-sportsman Manny Pangilinan.
The event, which ranks player according to strength and performance, is backed by media partners The Philippine STAR, TV5, Badminton Extreme Philippines Magazine, Jam 88.3, Wave 89.1, Magic 89.9, 99.5 RT and 103.5 WOW!.