OVER 250 matches kick off P1 million MVP Sports Foundation-Philippine Badminton Ranking System (PBaRS) Makati leg today at Powersmash with upcoming stars chasing cash prizes, ranking points and possible spots in the national pool.
Games start at 8 a.m. and will run until 8:40 p.m. as organizers stretched the playing hours to accommodate the record field of close to 700 entries fighting it out for top honors in 15 events.
That includes the centerpiece Open men’s and women’s singles, which stake P70,000 to the winners, the boys’ and girls’ U-19 and U-15 singles, the Open, boys’ and girls doubles and the mixed doubles.
The Open men’s singles, the Under-19 and U-15 boys’ singles have lured a huge 128-player field each, according to tournament director Nelson Asuncion.
Top seed Toby Gadi, who drew an opening round bye, opens his bid for a sixth straight Open men’s singles crown against Derek Bondoc while No. 2 Paul Vivas and Emmanuel Cabalfin battle at 8:40 p.m.
For details and results, log on to www.pbars.com. The five-day championship is sponsored by MVP Sports Foundation.