MIKA De Guzman completed her amazing winning run, outlasting Ysabel Amora, 21-11, 14-21, 21-8, to keep her women’s singles crown in the 2024 Philippine Badminton Open on Tuesday at the Gameville Ball Park in Mandaluyong City.
The 2023 APACS Kazakhstan International Series champion needed to regroup after losing the second set to extend her reign in the Philippine Super 500 tournament sponsored by Smart, Mizuno, the Philippine Sports Commission, and the MVP Sports Foundation.
“Nagpapasalamat lang rin ako sa coaches ko, sila coach Joper (Escueta), coach Kenneth (Monterubio), coach Ariel (Magnaye), at coach Kennie (Asuncion-Robles), kasi they helped me a lot at malaking factor nila na mapalakas ‘yung mental at physical preparation ko in this tournament,” said the incoming fourth-year student-athlete of Ateneo.
De Guzman expressed pride in the outcome of her hard work, saying: “I’m really happy that I really won again in this PBO. I would like to thank sir MVP for supporting the national team and to our coaches who helped us get the wins.”
Equally impressive was Jelo Albo, also from PBad Smash Pilipinas, as he defeated the tournament’s surprise contender, Clarence Villaflor of Cadiz-JBA/Apacs, in the men’s singles final, 21-13, 21-9, in this competition sponsored by Jollibee, Chowking, and the First Pacific Leadership Academy.
After defending his hometown in the previous six days in FLPA in Antipolo, Albo started strong to fend off Villaflor’s upset attempt in 47 minutes, despite the scoreline.
This week-long tournament also witnessed Lea Inlayo and Nicole Albo defending their women’s doubles title after downing UP’s Kimberly Lao and Patricia De Dios, 21-12, 21-7, in the day’s curtain-raiser.
In the men’s doubles category, Ariel Magnaye and Christian Bernardo clinched the title after a bizarre turn of events in the third game when reigning champions Solomon Padiz Jr. and Julius Villabrille decided to retire following a disputed line shot call.
Magnaye, the concurrent head coach of the national side, and one-half of the 2023 Iran Fajr International Series champions, Bernardo, claimed victory with a score of 22-20, 15-21, 20-17, after an intense battle.
The mixed doubles final between defending champions Villabrille and Nicole Albo, and Bernardo and Alyssa Leonardo, is still being played at posting time.
