Alcala cops gold for RP shuttlers in Singapore meet

Mark Alcala showed that he could be the country’s next best bet in badminton after he bested Indonesian Ali Auliansyah, 21-19, 21-16, in the 11-and-under boys’ division of the first Li-Ning Youth International in Singapore. En route to the finals, Alcala also beat some highly-fancied rivals, including top seed Joverian Mahesa, also of Malaysia, and local bets Chen Rhui-sheng and Ong Zi-jian.

“He (Alcala) played a superb game and with confidence. He knew he can beat these kids," said team manager and coach Conrado Co, also the man at the helm of the Philippine Badminton Association’s youth development program. Alcala and partner Keeyan Gabuelo also reached the quarterfinal round of the 13-under boys’ doubles while Ming Ramos Youth Cup champion Malvinne Alcala fell short of her bid in the 15-under girls' singles, reaching the quarters phase. Others who made it to the Last 8 were Gelita Castilo, another Ramos Youth Cup winner, in the 17-under girls’ singles; the Alcala-Castilo tandem in the 17-under mixed doubles; and the Paul Vivas and Peter Magnaye pair in the 19-under boys’ doubles. Roberto Pineda and Ethan Malelang also teamed up to earn a bronze medal in the 15-under boys’ doubles of the event, which drew participants from Chinese-Taipei, Hongkong China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand. – Adrian Flores, GMANews.TV