Unknown Oba-ob stuns Villanueva in third stage of PBaRS badminton

RABIE Oba-ob dropped the upset axe on sixth-seed Gabriel Villanueva for the biggest stunner in the third leg of the MVP Sports Foundation-Bingo Bonanza Philippine Badminton Ranking System (PBaRS) tournament yesterday at the Wheel ‘N More badminton courts in Davao City.

Oba-ob, playing out of Team Prima/Yonex, surprised the national team/Victor/Prima mainstay with a superb game in their 30-minute encounter, essaying a 21-15, 21-15 victory to reach the third round of the men’s Open singles event.

He will next face Charlo Tengco of Golden Shuttle Foundation/UP Diliman, who survived Sherman Olalia, 20-22, 21-19, 21-8, in the first round before scoring a walkover win over Whackers’ Stephen Sagayan.

GSF’s Antonino Gadi, seeking a third straight championship in the premier division of the event, bucked a shaky first set stint and went on to finish off Miguel Leonardo, 21-18, 21-3, to set up a third-round match with Carlos Cayanan.

The joint No. 8 Cayanan, a national team/Victor mainstay, thwarted Randy Bermejo of REHAB, 24-22, 21-18, to reach the Last 16 stage of the tournament./Correspondent Jonas Panerio