Gadi, Albo lead badminton rankings

MANILA, Philippines - Tobi Gadi and Airah Albo pace the latest Philippine National Ranking System following their impressive performances in various tournaments sanctioned by the Philippine Badminton Association

Gadi, the country’s top player the last few years, garnered 21,720 points based on his showing in the Prima Pasta Championship, the Philippine National games and the FDG Cup and kept the No. 1 ranking in the men’s singles.

Fellow national team mainstay Kevin Michael Cudiamat is in second with 17,820 points followed by Rabie Jayson Oba-ob with 16,270 and junior standout Ros Pedrosa with 15,000.

The youthful Albo, meanwhile, took the No. 1 spot in women’s singles with 19,350 points with Pauline Tan and Sarah Barredo in second and third with 14,970 and 14,720 points, respectively.

Joper Escueta and Ronel Estanislao, on the other hand, are the top-ranked men’s doubles players after tallying 22,950 points followed up by the duo of Peter Magnaye and Paul Vivas with 18,900 and Paul Pantig and Carlos Cayanan with 18,600, respectively. 

In women’s doubles, Jessie Francisco and Eleanor Christine Inlayo claimed the No. 1 spot with 21,450 points while Magnaye and Aires Montilla secured the No. 1 spot in the mixed doubles with 23,250 points.

The PBA has organized a five-leg national ranking system to periodically evaluate the performance of the members of the national training pool in various PBA-sanctioned tournaments. The PNRS also makes the selection of the national team more transparent.

Indonesian trainer coaches Paulus Firman and Fanny Kumala have cited the national men’s and women’s badminton squads good showing in recent local tournaments but stressed the need to compete abroad to toughen up.

“They are all good and definitely progressing from time to time,” said Firman.

But Kumala said the Philippine team needs overseas competitions to sharpen their badminton skills and adapt to the international playing field.

“It’s not enough to play here in the country because of the usual limited sparring partner, whom they are very familiar with,” said Kumala. “They need to play overseas against different strong oppositions to improve their level and condition.”