Pangilinan leads Sun Palace badminton champs

Janelle Pangilinan chases a drop shot in her finals game against Hannah Choi in the women’s singles A division of the Sun Palace Singles and Doubles Competition 2015 last weekend at the TSL Sports Complex in Gualo Rai. (Jon Perez)

Janelle Pangilinan dethroned two-time women’s singles A champion Hannah Choi then teamed up with Nicole Malasarte to clinch the women’s doubles crown to lead the list of champions in the Sun Palace Singles and Doubles Competition 2015.

The finals of the third edition of the annual tournament was played over the weekend at the TSL Sports Complex with Mikiya Takahashi and Vilma Reyes also becoming double titlists in the men’s and women’s C divisions, respectively.

Pangilinan bounced back from losing the first game in completing a 20-22, 21-17, 21-16 win over the veteran Choi, who was aiming to win a third straight crown in the tough women’s A division.

The Marianas High School 10th grader, who started playing badminton when she was 11 in 2011, was visibly nervous as she trailed for most part of the opening game. She was down by three, 19-16, but managed to win three straight points to force a tie.

Choi moved to game point, but Pangilinan forced a deuce before conceding the next two points for a 22-20 count in favor of the veteran netter.

Pangilinan, who won her first singles crown in the A division after being promoted from B last year, eventually settled in and played differently in the second game as she made her opponent work the entire court.

The 15-year-old kept Choi off balanced with an array of baseline and drop shots to enjoy an 11-7 lead at the interval. She twice made a hairpin net shot, where the shuttle clears very close to the net and drops sharply to the other side.

Pangilinan, who shouts after each point made to calm her nerves, did not let the opportunity pass her as she closed out the second game to force a rubber.

Choi, with her title defense getting dimmer, revived her chances in the third and even led 11-9 at the break. She, however, ran into a number of unforced errors as her baseline and drop shots were either out or failed to clear the net.

Pangilinan won five of the next six points to grab the upper hand, 14-12, and seven of the last 11 to complete her upset win. She made it two in a row against Choi in the women’s A doubles.

Pangilinan teamed up with Malasarte to beat Choi and Lanie Bartolome, 21-16, 21-19.

Takahashi topped the men’s C singles after a 21-16, 16-21, 21-19 win over Daniel Kim then teamed up with his opponent in ruling the doubles side with a 21-15, 21-15 decision over Hajin Oh and Nathan Guerrero.

Reyes, on the other hand, won the women’s C singles by walkover against Irish Pagarao then joined Baby Banadera in completing a 21-15, 21-11 decision over the pair of Gigi Zapanta and Lani Santos.

Andreau Galvez clinched the men’s A singles crown with a 21-14, 21-18 triumph over Deether Edralin, who later partnered with Jordan Pangilinan, Janelle’s older brother, in pulling off a hard-earned 21-16, 21-19 victory over the Korean pair of Youngson Yu and Joongmin Lee in the men’s A doubles.

Loyda Ito was crowned the women’s singles B champion after Havika Farro defaulted the first game. Ito sealed her title win with a 21-15 decision in the second game.

Lee and Oh Imbog bested Jun Lee and Hancheol Yu in the men’s doubles B finals, 21-12, 21-17, while Lucelle Lampera and Marylyn Montano downed the youthful pair of Farro and Malasarte, 21-16, 10-21, 21-19, in the women’s doubles B.

Jordan Pangilinan (men’s singles A), Owen Ou (men’s singles C). Malasarte (women’s singles B), and Santos (women’s singles C), Galvez and Zeke Macario (men’s doubles A), Joel Ortega and Edwin Montoya (men’s doubles B), Jun Kim and A.J. Ortega (men’s doubles C), Julie Lee and Rowena Sison (women’s doubles A and women’s doubles B), and Patricia Abantao and Mykki Caracut (women’s doubles C) were the third placers.