MANILA—Ronel Estanilao and Paul Vivas overpowered fellow national team-Victor members Ariel delos Santos and Gabriel Villanueva, 21-10, 21-10, Saturday to bag the Open men’s doubles crown in the FDG Cup 2011, National Open and Invitational badminton tournament at PowerSmash in Makati.
The win capped the Estanislao-Vivas pair’s domination of the centerpiece event, winning all their matches in straight sets, including a 23-21, 21-18 decision over Patrick Natividad and Paolo Sunga in the Last 16, and a 22-20, 21-17 escape over Ralph Mendez and Nico Saquin in the quarterfinals.
They held off Michael Paclibar and Recson Salvaleon, 21-15, 21-17, in the semifinals to set up a return match with Delos Santos and Villanueva, whom they also beat in their second faceoff in the PBaRS (Philippine Badminton Ranking System) tournament in Bacolod last month.
The victory was worth P160,000 for the Estanislao-Vivas tandem with Delos Santos and Villanueva, who thwarted Andrei Babad and Peter Magnaye, 15-21, 21-11, 21-10, in the semifinals, settling for P80,000.
Gelita Castilo, meanwhile, emerged the winningest player in the two-day event held in honor of Robinsons Land Corp. president Frederick D. Go and graced by world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei as she teamed up with Dia Magno to humble the RLC pair of Jubie Ann Vallarta and Ma. Isabelle Villaran, 20-22, 21-10, 21-18, to win the doubles title.
The Ateneo-Golden Shuttle Foundation pair pocketed P80,000. Vallarta and Villaran settled for P40,000.
Castilo, runner-up in the Open ladies singles in the first two legs of the PBaRS circuit, later combined with Ateneo-GSF teammate Antonino Gadi to scuttle the second seeded tandem of Estanislao and Malvinne Alcala, 16-21, 21-7, 21-10, and capture the mixed doubles crown worth P100,000. Estanislao and Alcala received P50,000.
Lee, the only badminton player to have won six major Super Series titles in a six-month stretch, and Go also played against Koo Kien Keat, the world No. 4 in men’s doubles with Boon Heong Tan, and top Filipino player Kennevic Asuncion in an exhibition match.