Vivas routs rival, sparks march of seeded shuttlers

MANILA, Philippines - Top seed Paul Vivas clobbered Rusty Rodriguez, 21-10, 21-10, to lead the national players into the third round of the men’s Open singles yesterday in the Philippine National Open-Ming Ramos Youth Camp Badminton Championships at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall.

Vivas, a veteran of the national team, took just 17 minutes to dispose of his opponent and set up an encounter with fellow Philippine team mainstay Kevin Alfred Dalisay, who advanced with a 21-6, 21-12 rout over Kingsley Go of Escoses Training Camp.

With new Indonesian head coach Rexy Mainaky monitoring their performances, the Filipino shuttlers are hard-pressed to show their wares in the tournament sponsored by Victor/PCOME exclusively distributed in the country, Bingo Bonanza, Sun Cellular and the Philippine Sports Commission.

“They should be able to show they are worthy to be in the national team,” said Mainaky, the top-caliber coach who is also conducting a search for new members of the national pool.

He said the 20-plus Phl squad is too small to make a difference in the powerhouse Southeast Asian region.

Second seed Andrei Babad was first to wilt under pressure as he suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of Alex Borromeo of Escoses Training Team.

Babad, a long-time member of the national team since his junior days, dropped a 21-23, 21-8, 21-9 decision to Borromeo, who advanced against Lawrence Palomer of Babolat Academy.

The other national players, however, breezed through the next round of the weeklong tournament, organized and conducted by the Philippine Badminton Association, headed by president and Vice President Jejomar Binay, chairman Manny V. Pangilinan and sec-gen Rep. Albee Benitez. The event is also held in honor of former PBA president and now honorary chair and former First Lady Amelita “Ming” Ramos.

Christopher Flores trounced Mark Gregorio, 21-6, 21-7, for a clash with Robert Aloyan, who ripped Dave Dueves, 21-11, 21-11; Marvin Cudiamat routed Christian Bandialan, 21-11, 21-12, to move up against Jose Lorenzo Yason, who whipped Jay Antonio, 21-11, 21-12.