PBaRS inaugural tilt draws huge field

MANILA, Philippines - Over 500 participants have so far confirmed their participation in the inaugural PBaRS (Philippine Badminton Ranking System) tournament with hundreds more expected to join before the event is held March 27-April 3 at Powersmash in Makati.

Entries from Valenzuela, Bulacan, Rizal, Zambales, Navotas, Laguna, Cavite, Antipolo, Las Piñas, Pampanga and Muntinlupa have dominated the early roster of players set to vie for top honors in the event which serves as the kickoff leg of a four-stage nationwide circuit put up to rank the players.

“Considering that we only have three categories, the initial number of entries and those who have signified their intention to join have already surpassed our expectations,” said tournament chairman Nelson Asuncion.

Registration is ongoing at the PBaRS office at 20 E. Maclang St. along P. Guevarra, San Juan. For details, contact 725-2568 or telefax 725-4942 or log on to www.pbars.com <http://www.pbars.com/> .

Events on tap are the Open, Under 19 and Under 15 for boys and girls, featuring the singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

Meanwhile, the circuit, sponsored by the MVP Sports Foundation-Goal Pilipinas, Bingo Bonanza Corp. and Yonex-Sunrise, will be launched in elaborate rites on March 19 at the Robinsons Manila Midtown New Wing with the new officials of the Philippine Badminton Association gracing the event which starts at 4 p.m.

They include Vice President and PBA president Jejomar Binay, PBA chairman Manny V. Pangilinan and PBA secretary-general Rep. Albee Benitez of Negros Occidental Third District.

The draw will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The organizers said there will be no seeding of players for the first leg and the draw will be done by the computerized system.

The finals of the first leg of the circuit, backed by Yonex-Sunrise, Gatorade and Powersmash with The Philippine STAR, TV5, Jam 88.3, Wave 89.1, Magic 89.9, 99.5 RT and 103.5 WOW! as media partners, will be held at the Makati Coliseum.

The second and third legs are set May 29-June 4 in Bacolod and July 31-Aug. 6 in Davao, respectively, with the circuit culminating in the VP Grand Prix Badminton Open Championships on Oct. 22-29 in Manila.

The series of tournaments is the initial project of the new PBA in its effort to further raise level of play in the country and come up with a truly national ranking system. It is supported by the Philippine Olympic Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission.

Under the system, the PBaRS will provide a clear and organized method of ranking players through a series of top-level Open national tournaments where players can earn ranking points. This will give equal opportunity to players to compete and be recognized. The more tournaments to join, the more points are accumulated with each win, thus, top ranking players can now be objectively defined.