Albo, Barredo stage showdown for crown

MANILA, Philippines - Top juniors Airah Albo and Sarah Joy Barredo hacked out a pair of come-from-behind three-set thrillers to set up a showdown for the Open women’s singles crown in the Bingo Bonanza National Open Badminton Tournament at Glorietta 5 Atrium in Makati City yesterday.

The fourth-ranked Albo ended the unranked Mariya Sevilla’s run of impressive victories with a 16-21, 21-14, 21-10 decision, gaining a crack at her first major championship against a fellow PBA-Smash Pilipinas standout seeking to claim the country’s top ranking.

Like Albo, Barredo worked her way back into the game with a big win in the second set, then wore down last year’s tormentor Gelita Castilo in the decider to snare an 18-21, 21-16, 21-17 victory in the other semis clash of the centerpiece division of the event sponsored by Bingo Bonanza and sanctioned by the Philippine Badminton Association.

Albo and Barredo, members of the Philippine team that won the 2015 Sudirman Cup world team Group IV event last May, dispute the crown in today’s finals starting at 2 p.m., also at Glorietta 5, with the mixed doubles to be followed by the women’s and men’s singles and women’s and men’s doubles, according to the organizing EventKing Corp.

Allied-NVBA’s Mark Alcala stayed on course for a title repeat in the Open men’s singles as he crushed No. 4 R-Jay Ormilla, 21-17, 21-12, in 44 minutes for his fourth straight-set victory in a row.

But the second-seeded Alcala will have to dig deeper into his arsenal of shots as top seed Kevin Cudiamat fashioned out an equally emphatic 21-18, 21-15 victory over Frell Gabuelo to seal a highly anticipated title clash between the tournament’s best players.

Cudiamat, dragged to a third set duel by the stubborn Kenneth Monterubio, 21-12, 20-22, 21-15, in the quarters, needed only 25 minutes to dispose of Gabuelo and prime himself up for an expected fierce duel with the talented Alcala.

No. 3 Alyssa Leonardo and Thea Pomar rallied from a set down to upend the second ranked pair of Aires Montilla and Kristelle Salatan, 16-21, 21-13, 21-18, to arrange a showdown for the Open women’s doubles title with Indonesians Keshya Hanadia and Marissa Vita, who came away with a 25-minute, 21-14, 21-8 rout of Danica Bolos and Jennifer Cayetano.

Barredo, a former double gold medalist in the Philippine National Games, also upended Castilo in the finals of the FDG Cup last July.