By: Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
WITH over 200 participants, the 14th Daily Guardian Badminton Cup was one of the biggest badminton tournaments to happen in Iloilo.
Ilonggo badminton mainstays and national notables made appearances in the several categories of the cup, and Citisports Badminton court was filled with cheers from the spectators.
The DG Badminton Cup wasn’t just a tournament. It was bigger than that. In fact, it was more of a family affair.
Families spent their whole Saturday to support their kids’ in a highly-competitive atmosphere, and it was nothing but pure euphoria inside the building.
There were 9 categories in the DG Badminton Cup – the 12 and under, 15 and under, 18 and under, 40-up Men’s, levels C, D, E, and the Open category.
In the U-12 Girls doubles, Christallyn Franco and AllisaGallego placed second, while Jamila Lagradante and BlessySindingan were the champions.
In the U-12 Boys doubles, Anthony dela Torre and John Cantera placed second, while John Limjuco and Andrei Bagoyo nabbed the title.
Abbygail Barcelona and Lagradante conquered the U-15 Girls doubles, while the pair of Karel Bertolano and Sandingan landed in second place.
In the U-15 Boys doubles, Andrei Jaravata and Justin Wang were crowned champions, while Al John Salazar and Kristian Ganancial were in second place.
The pair of Barcelona and Bertolano won the title in the U-18 Girls doubles, while Ira Yu and Ashleigh Olmoguez settled for the runner-up honors.
In the U-18 Boys doubles, Christopher Anglo and Lui Lumogdang clinched the title while Ryne Ebacuado and John Cardenas placed second.
Socel Retulin and Nelson Cajilig were crowned champions in the 40-up Men’s doubles while Edgardo Malata and RosendoArandela clinched second place honors.
The highly anticipated category of the Cup was the Open category, as former Philippine national team pool members battled it out for the title.
JC Clarito and Alem Palmares eventually prevailed over Greg Paz and Orlan Ticala.
Micah Bussey and John Villanueva were the champions in Men’s level B, while Anglo and Lumogdang were the runner-ups.
Dianne Bolilan and Christina Angki clinched the title in the level C Women’s doubles, while Rhea Hidalgo and Donna Jaruda bagged second place.
For level C Men’s doubles, Jason Uy and Ryan Reformina were hailed as champs after defeating runner-ups Richard Espada and Ron Cajayon.
In level D Men’s doubles, Uy and Warren Tresenco got the title while Andoy Valerio and Jhann Abejuela placed second.
Mark Mauricio and John dela Cruz ruled the level E Men’s doubles category while the pair of Henry Longno and Leo Sanchez were the runners-up.
