Magnaye, Velez romp off with JVC badminton crowns

What he lacked in height, Peter Magnaye made up with his power and guts as he ran second seed Randolph Balatbat to the ground with a classic 17-14, 6-15, 15-3 victory to cop the JVC Under-14 Badminton boys’ singles crown before a big Sunday crowd at the SM Megamall.

The 12-year-old Magnaye, ranked ninth in the tournament which gathered the best 14-under players in the land, struggled past Balatbat in the first set of an action-packed, tense-filled finale, dropped the next set but came alive again in the decider to cap his remarkable run of big wins in the event sponsored by electronics giant JVC.

On his way to the finals, Magnaye, playing of the PNP Badminton Club, upended fourth ranked Paul Vivas, 15-11, 15-12, in the quarterfinals then stunned top seed Gerard Certeza, 15-10, 15-8, in the semis Saturday.

Karyn Velez completed the day of the lesser-fancied bets as the second seed 14-year-old find dished out a solid performance all game to beat top-ranked Janina Paredes, 11-3, 11-9, and bag the girls’ singles diadem in a duel of Valle Verde bets.

Aside from the gold medals, Magnaye and Velez won scholarships from the Pioneer Education Plan and took home JVC discman, Cebu Pacific tickets, Gosen Racket, Rudy Project eyewear and Alaska gift pack. Velez also won a gift pack from Lactacyd.

Magnaye and Velez actually scored double victories in the tournament organized by IMG and backed by Alaska, Accel, Gosen, Toby’s Sports, Pioneer Insurance, Lactacyd, Tokyo Tokyo, The STAR, Agfa and Rudy Project as they won their respective doubles events.

Peter teamed up with brother Patrique and beat Certeza and Raphael Hidalgo, 15-10, 17-16, for the boys’ doubles title while Velez and Paredes outplayed the tandem of Lisa Encarnacion and Carla Lizardo, 15-6, 15-6, to win the girls’ doubles crown. Each pair won medals, JVC discman, Rudy Project eyewear and gift certificates, Alaska gift packs, Gosen rackets, and one-year supply of Lactacyd for girls.

Certeza and Paredes later salvaged some measure of pride by foiling Magnaye and Velez’ bid for a sweep of the titles as they scored a 15-12, 6-15, 15-9 victory in the mixed doubles.