MANILA, Philippines - Team Prima’s top national badminton athletes showed guts and determination to rule the recent VP Binay Grand Prix Badminton Open Championships-PBaRS fourth leg at the Philsports Arena in Pasig over the weekend.
“I’m very satisfied of what we achieved personally,” said Team Prima head coach and former national player Jaime Junio Jr., referring to the three gold, two silver and five bronze medals they captured on the last day of the week long tourney.
Junio said the players, headed by national player Joper Escueta, Michael Kevin Cudiamat and Ariel Magnaye, and Cheska Bermejo, have worked hard in practice to sharpen their skills and followed a great conditioning regimen.
“Here in Prima we always emphasizes that discipline and hard work are our main objective,” said Junio Jr., who also thanked Team Prima benefactor Alex Lim for the all-out support.
“They have the willingness and good working ethics that turned out to be the major factor in the tourney. Finally, they harvested the fruits of their labor. They never gave up.”
Escueta, 18, who is currently competing in the World Junior Championship in Taiwan together with Cudiamat, won the gold medals in the boy’s under-19 singles and the boy’s 19-under doubles crown along with Cudiamat during the PBaRS fourth leg.
Team Prima’s third gold came from the mixed doubles open champion Cheska Bermejo and national player Ariel Magnaye.
Gabby Villanueva and Aries Delos Santos settled for silver in the men’s doubles. Ariel Magnaye also won the silver in the men’s dingles.
The five bronze medalists were John Gregg Paz and Sonny Montilla (men’s doubles); Escueta (men’s singles); Bermejo and Rosalie Soberano (ladies doubles); Gudz Mailon and Ma. Isabelle Villaran (mixed doubles) and Cudiamat (boys singles 19-U).