Alcala secures finals berth in VP Binay badminton tilt

MALVINNE Alcala shut out Gelita Castillo, 21-16, 21-9, yesterday to gain a crack at a second crown against Bianca Carlos in the VP Binay Grand Prix Badminton Open Championships-PBaRS fourth leg at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.

Alcala, the reigning Singapore and Australian Juniors champion and winner of the second leg of the national ranking circuit, outlasted Castilo in a close first set duel then overpowered the top seed in the next to complete the 36-minute romp in the P1 million tournament presented by MVP Sports Foundation and Robinsons Land.

Carlos, on the other hand, bucked a 9-11 deficit in the early going and clipped Reyne Calimlim, 21-16, 21-10, to likewise earn another shot for the title after topping the kickoff leg of the four-leg series.

Alcala and Carlos dispute the ladies Open singles crown and the P70,000 purse starting at 9 a.m. today in the first of two title clashes between two of the country’s leading players in the tournament which gathered the cream of the country’s rising stars. This after Alcala subdued No. 2 Elisha Ongcuangco, 21-4, 21-8, and Carlos disposed of Abigail Garcia, 21-11, 21-12, in the semis of the girls’ Under-19 singles.

In men’s play, top seed Toby Gadi nipped Joper Escueta in a marathon contest that took one-hour and 17 minutes to finish, carving out a thrilling 21-11, 16-21, 21-19 victory to stay in the hunt for a title sweep.

Gadi, who beat Patrick Natividad in the first leg and Paul Vivas in the next two, will dispute the crown with third seed Gabriel Magnaye, who held off Ian Mendez, 21-17, 21-17.  Correspondent Jonas Panerio