THE CLOAK of invincibility that Toby Gadi once donned was shattered by 14-year old Mark Shelley Alcala, who toppled the top seed, 21-14, 21-12 in the men’s division of the the MVP Sports Foundation-PBaRs tournament yesterday at the Robinson’s Place Manila.
Showing courage and resilience beyond his years, Alcala not only shut down Gadi—a seven-time Open men’s singles champion—but also overcame his bout with diarrhea, en route to hacking out the biggest upset of this competition. He was competing only for the second time in this division but didn’t take long to show that he is capable of playing big time.
Alcala’s elder sister Malvinne Anne also bucked a bum stomach and pulled through against Under-19 tormentor Bianca Carlos, snatching the Open women’s singles crown via a 21-18, 21-16 verdict, and completing the Alcalas’ sweep of the centerpiece Open division of the.
Mark Alcala actually scored a twinkill as he also captured the boys singles U-19 crown at the expense of Golden Shuttle Foundation’s Nicole Clarence Filart, 21-13, 21-18 prior to his showdown with Gadi.
Carlos later got back on the winning track as she nipped fellow GSF bet Patrisha Malibiran, 21-14, 21-14, for the U19 girls singles title. /Correspondent Jonas Panerio