Alcala, Escueta head Nat’l Open badminton bash

Fresh from her gold medal feat in the Singapore Youth International, Malvinne Alcala looms as the top favorite in the Ming Ramos-Victor National Open and Youth Badminton Championships firing off Monday, Dec. 27, at Club 650 and PSC Badminton Hall at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. Joper Escueta will be the marked man in the boys’ side of the four-day tournament, which features the country’s leading and rising stars vying for top honors in various divisions and spots in the national pool. Also seeing action are Ariel Magnaye, EJ Boac, Cassandra Lim, Nikki Servando, and a pair of 11-year-old talents in Mark Shelley Alcala and Aira Mae Albo. Others in the fold are players from the various badminton clubs in the country, including Allied Badminton, Escoses Training Camp, WWGBA, Whackers Badminton Academy, Gingoog Badminton Club and Team Prima. Alcala, 15, toppled a slew of talented foreign rivals to pocket the Under-17 crown in Singapore, then expressed confidence about her chances in next week’s event organized and conducted by the Philippine Badminton Association (PBA), which is affiliated with the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and the Badminton Asia Confederation (BAC) “I feel good and will continue to strive hard and train to bring more honors to the country," said Alcala, who also cited PBA president Amelita “Ming" Ramos for providing and supporting the Filipino players’ campaigns abroad. She is expected to see action in the U-17 and the Open categories. Club 650 in Libis, QC will host the first two days of the event for the eliminations, while the quarterfinals, semis and finals will be held at the PSC badminton hall. Meanwhile, the BAC will send personnel to observe the conduct of the event in line with the badminton body’s plan to conduct the SEA BAC training camp in the country next year. The tournament features five age-group classes, including Under-19, Under-17, Under-15, Under-13 and Under-11 for the boys’ and girls’ singles and doubles events. At stake is a total prize fund of P350,000, plus over P450,000 worth of equipment from Victor, which is distributed locally by PCome Industrial Sales, Inc., Meanwhile, the Corporate division has been reset to January to give the leading teams from the business and commercial sectors more time to prepare. Events to be disputed in best-of-three team ties are the women’s and men’s doubles and the mixed doubles. The men’s and women’s singles and doubles and the mixed doubles are on tap in the Open category of the event, which also serves as part of the selection process for those competing in the BWF-sanctioned junior tournaments next year. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV