Castilo, Alcala stake Bingo Bonanza National Open crowns

MANILA, Philippines - Gelita Castilo and Marky Alcala gear up for defense of their respective crowns in the centerpiece Open singles with an elite cast out to foil their repeat bids in the 2015 Bingo Bonanza National Open badminton tournament set to fire off next Monday at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall and Glorietta 5 Atrium in Makati City.

Castilo rallied to beat Sarah Barredo, 21-17, 14-21, 21-19, to snare the women’s crown while Alcala stamped his class over R-Jay Ormilla, 21-15, 21-11, to run away with the men’s diadem and complete Allied Victor’s sweep in last year’s revival of the event put up by Bingo Bonanza and sanctioned by the Philippine Badminton Association headed by Vice President Jejomar Binay and sec-gen Rep. Albee Benitez.

But they will have their hands full in the upcoming event with the rest of the cast all primed up to contend for top honors, cash prizes and ranking points, guaranteeing top-notch, fierce finishes in the week-long event sponsored by the country’s premier amusement center which has backed big-time badminton tournaments since the early 2000s.

Barredo, for one, is raring to redeem herself from last year’s setback, winning the recent FDG Cup Badminton crown, along with the likes of Airah Albo, Danica Bolos, Jennifer Cayetano, Michal Del Duquilla, Maridel Rivera, Monica Rivera, Mariya Sevilla and Pauline Tan.

Meanwhile, the draw and seeding will be held Oct. 15 with the matches to be posted on Oct. 16. The coaches, team managers and players meeting is set Oct. 16 at the Rizal Memorial Badminton Hall.

The preliminaries will be held Oct. 19-21 at the Rizal Memorial with action shifting to the Glorietta 5 Atrium for the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals, according to the organizing EventKing Corp.