Alcala advances but Asuncions bow to Chinese

MANILA, Philippines - Malvinne Ann Venice Alcala overpowered Camille Krisnin Yang, 21-9, 21-7, in a duel of local bets yesterday to barge into the quarterfinal round of the women’s singles in the $120,000 Bingo Bonanza Philippine Grand Prix Gold Badminton Championships at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

The 13-year-old Alcala, who trounced Ella Dorado, 21-8, 21-3, in the first round Wednesday, used a variety of shots to outplay Yang and arrange a showdown with fourth ranked Jiang Yanjiao of China, who zapped Nguyen Nhung Le Ngoc of Vietnam, 21-13, 21-12, in the other Last 16 clash.

Unranked Sachiyo Imai, who shocked No. 8 Maja Tvrdy of Slovenia, 21-13, 21-10, in the first round, continued to dish out fine form as she bundled out Mong Kwan Yi of Hong Kong, 21-13, 21-11, to gain a spot in the Last 8.

Kennie and Kennevic Asuncion, the country’s best hopes for a medal here, blew a first set win as they lost steam and bowed to China’s Yuting Deng and Zihan Qiu, 21-19, 8-21, 16-21, in the mixed doubles late in the afternoon.

It was a sorry setback for the veteran sister-brother tandem, the 2005 Manila Southeast Asian Games mixed doubles bronze medalists and runner-up in the inaugural staging of this event in 2006 who reached as high as 11th place in the world rankings three years ago.

In men’s singles action, Chinese Zhou Wenlong smothered Indonesian Adnan Fauzi, 21-14, 21-19, and Malaysian Wong Beryno Jiann Tze stunned compatriot Lee Tsuen Seng, 21-9, 21-11, to likewise march to the quarterfinal round of the event sponsored by Bingo Bonanza for the third time and organized by International Management Group.

Meanwhile, four RP pairs advanced to the second round of the men’s doubles in all-Filipino pairings while the rest, including those in women’s doubles, headed for the exit as expected in the face of top-notch opposition in the event backed by Victor (PCOME Industrial Sales, Inc), PLDT Business Solutions, The Philippine STAR, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, the Philippine Sports Commission and Solar Sports.

Andrei Babad and Peter Gabriel Magnaye booted out Paul Co and Gregorio Esquillo, 21-10, 21-12; Kelvin Panganiban and Gabriel Villanueva eliminated Joffre Arollano and Cliff Yan, 21-16, 21-13; Emmanuel Garcia and Mark Alvin Natividad smashed Alfredo Mailon and Recson Salvaleon, 21-12, 21-13; and Jobetth Co and Antonino Gadi defeated Filipino Jaime Junio and Indonesian Aditya Arifin, 21-17, 21-12, in round of 32 matches.

Crashing out of the Gold Grand Prix event, sanctioned by the Philippine Badminton Association, were qualifiers Jose Martinez and Mikhail Nacisvalencia, who bowed to Indonesians Fernando Kurniawan and Lingga Lie, 12-21, 12-21; Ronel Estanislao and Paul Vivas, who dropped a 16-21, 9-21 setback to another Indonesian rival of Mohammad Ahsan and Bona Septano; Wilfredo Amoroso and Kelvin Alfred Dalisay, who were booted out by Malaysians Yogendran Krishnan and Yeoh Kay Bin, 13-21, 17-21; and Raymond Padilla and Roden Rivera, who were trounced by Indonesians Adnan Fauzi and Tri Krusharjanto, 15-21, 15-21.

Kennevic Asuncion and Lloyd Escoses withdrew at the last minute after the latter suffered a hamstring injury, enabling Chinese seventh pick Sun Junjie and Tao Jiaming to breeze through the Last 16.

The RP girls suffered the same fate as their counterparts as Gelita Castilo and Malvinne Alcala fell short of their upset bid and lost to Chinese Zhang Jinkang and Wang Siyun, 18-21, 19-21; and Lovely Sawada and Angelica Pardo were outclassed by Hong Kong’s Tse Ying Suet and Chan Tsz Ka, 8-21, 7-21.

Camille Yang and Patricia Barredo took a 6-21, 6-21 beating from China’s Wei Yili and Gao Ling while Reyne Calimlim and Danica Bolos succumbed to Japan’s Seiko Yamada and Yuka Hayashi, 12-21, 14-21, as the foreign bets started to flex their muscle in the five-day tournament. – Joey Villar