Carlos, Pedrosa hit Bingo Open jackpots

MANILA, Philippines – Bianca Carlos and Ros Pedrosa turned their expected tight final round matches into a pair of romps as they shared the Open singles honors in the P1.5 million Bingo Bonanza National Open Badminton Tournament at SM Megamall yesterday.

Carlos kept the momentum of her string of straight-set victories, including a 21-15, 21-10 triumph over Malvinne Ann Alcala in the semifinals, dethroning last year’s champion and top seed Sarah Joy Barredo, 21-13, 21-11, to bag the women’s singles diadem.

It was actually the top Ateneo bet’s second straight win over Barredo this year with the former also trouncing the latter in three in the FDG Cup finals last June.

Pedrosa, on the other hand, halted the unseeded Clarence Filart’s run of impressive victories as the third-ranked mainstay of PBA Smash Pilipinas came away with an emphatic 21-11, 21-14 victory to claim the  men’s singles crown in the annual top-ranking tournament sponsored by Bingo Bonanza.

Carlos and Pedrosa each received P100,000.

Peter Magnaye and Indonesian Devi Permatasari also essayed a straight-set 21-15, 21-19 win over fellow PBA Smash Pilipinas stalwarts Ronel Estanislao and Keshya Hanadia, also of Indonesia, to nail the Open mixed doubles crown in 32 minutes before a big Sunday crowd.

Bracing for a fierce challenge, Carlos seized control early with her vast repertoire of shots, keeping Barredo on the defensive majority of the way. The former National Open champion scored on smashes and dropped shots while pouncing on her rival’s miscues to complete the 35-minute victory.

Pedrosa proved more convincing, needing only 20 minutes to oust  Filart, who stunned top seed Kevin Cudiamat in the quarterfinals and No. 6 Solomon Padiz Jr. in the Final Four.

The event is organized by EventKing Corp. and backed by official equipment Victor, exclusively distributed by PCOME Industrial Sales, Smash Pilipinas and the Philippine Olympic Committee.