Carlos, Gadi head PBaRS 2nd leg cast

MANILA, Philippines - Bianca Carlos and Antonino Gadi brace for a tougher outing as they go for back-to-back victories in the Open division of the MVP Sports Foundation-Bingo Bonanza Philippine Badminton Ranking System (PBaRS) second leg which gets going May 31 at the Pohang Badminton Courts in Bacolod City.

The Golden Shuttle Foundation bets have confirmed their participation in the week-long event, wary of the field toughened up by the entry of top and rising provincial players and those who saw action in the kickoff leg at PowerSmash last month.

In an effort to give those in the provinces a chance to play in top-level tournaments and gain ranking points, PBaRS is staging two regional tournaments, the other slated July 31-Aug. 6 in Davao.

“It is also aimed at discovering fresh talents who could be trained and developed into becoming members of the national pool,” said PBaRS tournament director Nelson Asuncion.

For details, log on to www.pbars.com or email [email protected].

The PBaRS series of nationwide tournaments is a project of Vice President Jejomar Binay, Rep. Albee Benitez and businessman-sportsman Manny Pangilinan in their collective effort to bring the sport to a higher level and produce world-class players.

Also on tap in the event, backed by PLDT-Smart Foundation, Victor PCOME Industrial Sales, Gatorade and Powersmash with The Philippine STAR, TV5, Badminton Extreme Philippines Magazine, Jam 88.3, Wave 89.1, Magic 89.9, 99.5 RT and 103.5 WOW! as media partners, are the Under-19 and Under-15 singles, men’s and ladies doubles and mixed doubles events.

The nationwide circuit winds up with the VP Grand Prix Badminton Open Championships on Oct. 22-29 in Manila.

Also in the ladies fold are La Salle’s Danica Bolos, Reyne Calimlim and Pauline Ramos, Iloilo’s Annelyn Alba and Camille Burgos, Bulacan’s Ana Fajardo, Kathleen Balatbat, Jamila Cruz of Victor-Pcome, and Escoses Training Camp’s Pamela Lim and Cassandra Lim.