Heartbreak for the Guerrero twins

Heartbreak for the Guerrero twins 

- Dan Rupinta ( with contribution from Manjo Zalamea)

 

Ladies Doubles Open category top seed, Raquel and Raquel Guerrero (DLSU/Phils Team) were shown the exit door by two rising stars in Phils badminton, Cheska Bermejo and Chona Rivera (College of St. Benilde/Powersmash/Dunlop-WHACKERS BA) in their quarterfinals encounter at the  2008 Yonex-Sunrise Phils National Open Badminton Championships held at the YPBC, Shaw Blvd, Mandaluyong City.      

 

2005 Champion Bermejo, partnering this year with Chona Rivera dominated the Guerrero twins in the 1^st set, 21-11 with their relentless smashes and attacking play from the back of the court.   In the 2^nd set, Rachel and Raquel came back strongly and raced to a 12-4 lead.   With less unforced errors, they took the 2^nd set,  21-11.   The 1^st half of the 3^rd and final set was very tight before Bermejo & Rivera pulled away at 16-10.   Bermejo closed the 3^rd set and the match with a very well-disguised drop shot which caught Raquel off-guard.   The final score:   21-11, 11-21, 21-12.  

 

Early in the evening, Raquel and Rachel Guerrero also lost their respective Mixed Doubles quarterfinals matches, which made them out of the semifinals in any category for the first time in 5 years.  

 

Ladies Singles Open category top seed, Rose Anne Dela Cruz of UST avoided the upset bug by routing Cheska Bermejo in a closely-contested match, 26-24, 21-19.   She was joined in the Semifinals by three teenagers and rising stars in Philippine Ladies Badminton, Gelita Castilo and, Marlvinne Anne Alcala, both from Allied Badminton and Karyn Velez of the Golden Shuttle Foundation who all outclassed their respective rivals in easy fashion.  

 

Meanwhile, 3-time champion, Ian Gil Piencenaves made history of his own by booking his 5^th consecutive appearance in the Men’s Doubles Semifinals round.   Piencenaves, representing Butuan City Badminton Club/PLDT partnering with Marlon Villarin defeated Rodel Bartolome and Marco Bermejo, 21-16, 21-11.

 

There were no surprises in the Mixed Doubles event as the World ranked No. 40, Kennevic and Kennie Asuncion demolished Bryan Chan and Rachel Guerrero, 21-14, 21-5      They were joined in the Semifinals round by top seeds, Arolas Amahit and Noelle Casandra Ang-Siy, who clobbered Sonny Montilla & Melody Villaceran, 21-19, 21-17. 

 

In the Men’s Singles event, three youngsters who are now carrying the Philippine team colors, Antonino Gadi, Jobett Co and Kelvin Tim Ang crushed their respective rivals to book their tickets in the Semifinals. Former Phils Team standout, Ian Gil Piencenaves completed the semi-final line-up with a very thrilling 2-set win over his former MD partner and good friend, Arolas Amahit, 21-16, 21-11.

Catch the Semifinals action today in all categories, Nov 29, 2008 starting at 9am.

The 2008 Yonex-Sunrise Philippines National Open Badminton Championships is presented by YONEX-SUNRISE and co-presented by PHITEN.  This event is also brought to us by:  Badminton Hub, Sportshub, My Shaldan, Makati Shangri-la, BSI Medicated Spray, Fish Designs, Potraitme.net, Tacorific, Potato Corner and our official & exclusive print partner, The Philippine Star.    The tournament runs from Nov 22-30, 2008