Acosta wins Fifth Title; Amores completes "Hat-trick"

The 7th All-Citi Badminton Tournament, 2009 Edition Tournament Recap
Acosta wins Fifth Title; Amores completes "Hat-trick"

Jojo Amores completed his own “hat-trick” (3 titles) while Migs Acosta snared his fifth All-Citi A1 title to become the first pairing to win back-back championship crowns in the 7th annual All-Citi Badminton tournament held last April 25-26, 2009 at the YPBC, Shaw Blvd, Mandaluyong City. Amores and Acosta, representing the Violet team defeated the tandem of Jon Chua and Louie Bonzon (Yellow team), 20-18, 21-16 in a hotly-contested Level A1 Finals. Acosta, who now holds a 5-0 record in the annual All-Citi finals said: “We were just lucky enough to capitalize on breaks that we got during the latter part of both sets. All four of us played well and it was a hard fought match that could have gone either way”.

The pairing of Acosta and Amores appeared to be vulnerable in their preliminaries matches as they succumbed to Chua and Bonzon in a tight 3 sets, 14-21, 21-16, 21-17. Meanwhile the eventual runners-up sent strong signals early on to their opponents by sweeping the preliminary assignments in dominating fashion, using their athleticism and uncanny teamwork. However, there was a reversal of roles in the Finals as Chua and Bonzon appeared tentative with their shots and committed more unforced errors. The crucial point in the match came at 17-16 in the 2nd set when Acosta, showcasing his experience, scored two consecutive points with powerful smashes into the middle of the court. At championship point, Bonzon’s defensive block caught the top of the net and sealed Amores' & Acosta’s victory. This was the second runner-up finish for Bonzon and Chua in 3 years.

In the Level A2 category, Erwin Amurao of Citiphone (partnering with Oliver Pangan this year) successfully defended his championship crown by outclassing the pairing of Kailas Raina (CBPS) and Alana Olavides (CRMS CoE) in straight sets. Raina played as a substitute player for Michelle Guerrero who withdrew from the level A2 finals with a back injury. Earlier in the afternoon, Raina partnered with Mawi Acosta to capture the Level B1 trophy. In Ladies Doubles Level A3, Citi Team A standouts, Kathleen Ng and Jheng Galang ended the amazing run of the Ramos sisters (Rachel and Reana) in 2 straight sets to bag the Level A3 crown for the first time.

The B3, B4 and B9 categories also provided a lot of excitement as the finals matches all stretched to 3 hard-fought sets. Basketball standout, George Monsod, ably proved his mettle in his second sport by garnering the B4 crown with partner, Dama Cid.

“One Citi”. It was another well-participated badminton tournament with a total of 170 players coming from the different businesses and departments from the various legal vehicles comprising Citi Philippines joining the event. Truly the event has lived up to its objective of promoting camaraderie, work-life balance, and a healthy lifestyle among Citi employees.

It was a reunion of sorts this year with the inclusion of Ex-Citibankers into the tournament. At least 20 former Citibankers joined the 2-day tournament and quite a few of them emerged victorious, among them - Oliver Pangan (A2), Mawi Acosta (B1), Eric Salamillas & Renee Carpio (B7), Janet Ching (B8) and Esther Sta. Maria (C2). “As an Ex-Citi staff, we surely appreciate being able to attend an event like this where we can meet up with old friends and meet new ones”, Level B6 Runner-up and former Corporate Bank Relationship Mgr, Jehan Dayrit remarked.

The tournament kicked-off with the Opening Ceremonies highlighted by the presentation of the 5 participating teams. It was followed by the singing of the Philippine National Anthem led by Level A2 champion, Mr. Oliver Pangan. The Opening prayer and Opening remarks, delivered by Nona Reyes and Dan Rupinta, followed shortly after. Jojo Amores and Nona Reyes then led the participating players in the Oath of Sportsmanship

Big battle for team championships. If there’s one indication on how competitive the games were during the 2-day tournament, it was definitely the battle for team supremacy. During the two-day tournament, leadership in the team standings changed 5 times and after all the Preliminary matches were tallied, there was a triple tie for first place (Violet, Red and Yellow teams) while the Blue and White teams had identical team points to tie for 4th and 5th places. The over-all championship was decided via the Finals matches and the Yellow team of Mr. Jonas Baradas only edged out the Red Team of Mr. Bobby Colores by a mere 2 points. It was a very successful weekend for Baradas, as he and partner Mike Ramos also copped the C1 championship

Enhorabuena Organizers!. The tournament is currently one of the longest running Corporate Badminton tournaments in the country today. Special thanks to the hard working Core Group members who once again, through team effort produced a top-calibre tournament. Congratulations and well done indeed!
Tournament Organizing Committee: Alejandro, Jeff; Baga, Lynneth; Bautista, Darius B; Catani, Amie F; Dayrit, Dindo; Galang, Josephine; Guerrero, Michelle; Mabanag, Ronald; Olavides, Alana; Ramos, Rachel Erika; Ramos, Reana Evita; Reyes, Nona; Sia, Jerwin M

Tournament Captains and Co-captains: Jonas Baradas & Mike Ramos, Bobby Colores & Edgar Matacot, Jun Macabasco & Jojo Amores, Rigor Roxas & Wilbur Po and Joel Calo & Erwin Amurao.

And to the Core Group heads: Dan Rupinta and Dindo Dayrit.

Kudos also to the Citi Camera Club, under the able stewardship of Pres. Winston Baltasar of CBS Asia for their support in the Badminton photo contest.

See you all in next year's 8th edition of the tournament