Gacad-Vinluan tandem wins badminton tilt

SUN.STAR Baguio sports columnist and Young Men’s Christian Association’s Bobby Vinluan tandemed with Baguio Chronicle columnist Zards Gacad smashed their rivals to win the media division at the close of the Cordillera PNP Press Corps Badminton Open Invitational tournament.

The duo opened their campaign with 35-34 triumph over Joe Esteras of NBN-4 and Al Mirabueno in the second game to stay in contention for the top prize in the scribes division.

Earlier, the pair of Jonathan Llanes of NBN 4 and Sun.Star Baguio photo contributor Larry Fabian started slow but managed to escape the tandem of DZEQ radio ng Bayan Baguio anchors Jong Munar and Robart Tabay, 35-33, to join the Vinluan-Gacad tandem in the opener.

Gacad and Vinluan came up with another huge victory, this time by downing Llanes and Fabian in a lopsided 35-12 victory, which placed them at the top of team standings with a clean 2-0 slate.

Munar and Tabay, meanwhile, bounced back from their first defeat in an exciting 35-34 victory against winless Esteras-Mirabuneo tandem in the fundraising activity of the Cordillera PNP Press Corps to enable the group to conduct outreach programs in the different parts of the region in the coming months.

The tandem of Esteras–Mirabueno, winless after two games, once again failed to deliver in their last game against Llanes and Fabian, 35-24, despite an early lead to put them dead last in the competition supported by Philex Mining Corporation, Manila North Tollways Corporation (MNTC) and Smart Communications.

Gacad and Vinluan then closed out the Munar-Tabay tandem to claim the crown in the media division via a 35-22 drubbing, which placed the radio broadcasters at third in the event also supported by SN Aboitiz, Benguet Electric Cooperative, Goshenland and Land Bank of the Philippines.

Fabian and LLanes, meanwhile, salvaged the first runner-up honors with a 2-1 record in the event, which drew close to 200 badminton players from all over with the help of the Police Regional Office Cordillera and Benguet Provincial Police Office.

Top smashers in the collegiate, elite, secondary and elementary level took their time out to join the three day badminton tournament with cash prizes amounting to more than P80,000 plus trophies and medals for the top two winners in the doubles and mixed doubles event.


Published in the Sun.Star Baguio newspaper on July 19, 2011.