Alcala, Carlos forge key badminton duel

MANILA—Teen standouts Malvinne Alcala and Bianca Carlos arranged a quarterfinal duel after quickly bundling out their opponents yesterday in the MVP Sports Foundation-Bingo Bonanza Philippine Badminton Ranking System (PBaRS) tournament.

Carlos ousted Bulacan’s Ana Fajardo in just 15 minutes, 21-6, 21-8, to advance in the Open ladies singles at the Pohang Badminton Courts in Bacolod City.

Alcala booted out UP Diliman’s Bianca Legaspi, 21-7, 21-13, to complete the quarterfinal cast that includes Gelita Castilo, Reyne Calimlim, Pauline Ramos, Cassandra Lim, Danica Bolos and Paula Filart.

Top seed and defending champion Antonino Gadi gained the Last 8 in the men’s side along with Lloyd Escoses, Kevin Dalisay, Joper Escueta, Peter Magnaye and Andrei Babad.

Castilo cruised to a 21-9, 21-10 triumph over Fatima Cruz, while Lim also pulled off a big win over  Kristine Cornista, 21-14, 21-7.

Bolos downed Annelyn Alba, 21-17, 21-17; Calimlim trounced Ellaine Malelang, 21-7, 21-15; Filart repulsed Pamela Lim, 21-16, 21-18; and Ramos outlasted Pauline Tan, 22-20, 21-14.

Upsets also marked the men’s competition with Escoses shocking the second-ranked Patrick Natividad, 21-19, 21-17; Escueta pulling the rug from under No. 3 Wilfredo Amoroso, 21-10, 21-11; and Babad sending home the fifth-seeded Gabriel Villanueva, 21-13, 17-21, 21-19.

Gadi subdued Carlos Cayanan, 21-12, 21-16;  Magnaye thwarted Carlos Benipayo, 21-10, 22-20; and Dalisay turned back Charlo Tenglo, 12-21, 21-16, 21-9.

Carlos, a three-division winner in the tournament’s inaugural staging last year, also arranged a quarterfinal match with  Angelica Muyrong in the Under-19 class of the second leg of the circuit organized by Vice President Jejomar Binay, Rep. Albee Benitez and businessman-sportsman Manny V. Pangilinan.

Carlos survived a first-set scare before beating Danica Pelegrino, 22-20, 21-4, while Muyrong  downed Angela Malata, 21-13, 21-13.