Vivas, Magnaye bolster PH badminton SEAG chances

SHUTTLERS Paul Jefferson Vivas and Peter Gabriel Magnaye will bring the confidence of their recent victory in the international stage to the 28th Southeast Asian Games.

The power-smashing duo led the Philippines to the 2015 Sudirman Cup Badminton World Team Championship Group 4 title recently in Dongguan, China.

Vivas and Magnaye, the country’s brightest hopes for a doubles medal in the Singapore SEAG on June 5 to 16, also pocketed the men’s doubles crown of the Swiss International Badminton Championship in Yverdon-Les-Bains, Switzerland, late last year.

The tandem of Philip Joper Escueta and Ronel Estanislao and women’s doubles pairs Eleanor Christine Inlayo-Alyssa Ysabel Leonardo and Anna Patricia Barredo-Thea Marie Pomar also saw action.

The Smash Pilipinas shuttlers defeated Iceland, 4-1, and subdued Nigeria, 5-0, in the preliminary round. They demolished Sri Lanka, 3-0, in the finals.

“This victory serves as a great exposure going into the SEA Games,” said the team’s Indonesian coach Paulus Firman.