By MARK REY MONTEJO
July Villabrille and Solomon Padiz Jr. displayed strong chemistry and ruled the men’s doubles event of the 2024 Bahrain International Series in Manama over the weekend.
The Villabrille-Padiz duo combined speed and power to score a 21-14, 15-21, 28-26 win over fellow Filipinos Christian Bernardo and Alvin Morada in a title clash that delighted the crowd, mostly OFWs.
It was also the second straight title for the PH pair after conquering the PETRONAS International Challenge in Ipoh, Malaysia last month.
Prior to their championship run, Villabrille and Padiz earned an early bye in the opening round then swept Bahrain’s Jeffin Jes and Muhammed Ashik Shajahan, 21-7, 21-8, in the quarterfinal.
Then they followed their winning ways with a semifinal romp of India’s Vimalraj Annadurai and Mauryan Kathiravan, 21-16, 21-13, to secure their final ticket.
In the singles division, Jelo Albo settle for silver after losing to Indian Kavin Tangam Kavin, 21-12, 21-17.
Before succumbing to his Indian foe, Albo collected the scalps of UAE’s Aakash Ravikumar (21-12, 21-7), Syria’s Aljallad Ahmad (21-3, 21-7), and Iran’s Amirhossein Hasana (22-20, 21-19), in the Round of 32, 16, and quarters, respectively.
Albo’s victim in the t semis bout was Indian Vishal Vasudevan ( 21-10, 9-21, 21-12)
Meanwhile in women’s doubles of the LI – NING Vietnam International Series, Airah Albo and Eleanor Inlayo lost to Indonesians Isyana Syahira Meida and Rinjani Kwinara Nastine, 21-18, 21-14, in the final.
