R-JAY Ormilla hacked out a 21-18, 11-21, 21-17 victory over Toby Gadi while Kenneth Monterubio mastered Kevin Cudiamat, 21-11, 21-11, to barge into the semifinals of the Open men’s singles in the FDG Cup Open and Invitational badminton tournament at Powersmash Badminton Center in Makati.
The 11th-ranked Ormilla rebounded from a second-set meltdown with a gritty stand in the third, outlasting the seventh-seeded fellow PBA-Smash Pilipinas standout to earn a shot at top seed Dea Adirangga of Indonesia, who scored a walkover win over Malaysian Arif Ab Latif.
Monterubio, seeded No. 14 in a full-packed roster, eased out No. 8 Cudiamat with his power game to set up a semis duel with No. 10 Ros Pedrosa, who clipped joint No. 12 Kevin Dalisay, 21-12, 21-15, in the two-weekend ranking tournament sanctioned by the Philippine Badminton Association and held in honor of Robinsons Land Corp. president Frederick D. Go.
Meanwhile, China's former world No. 1 Wang Xin and Wang Lin showcase their world-class skills before local fans as they play exhibition matches with Philippine Badminton Association sec-gen Rep. Albee Benitez, former national team standout Kennevic Asuncion and Go starting at 3 p.m. on Saturday, also at Powersmash.
Also on tap in is the Partners Cup, which features employees and business partners of the RLC.
No. 4 Nicole Albo stopped Aldreen Concepcion’s giant-killing spree with a 21-16, 21-13 victory to the three foreign aces in the semifinal round of the Open women’s singles.
Albo, also a PBA-Smash Pilipinas standout, shoots for a final berth against joint No. 2 Asifa Nur Farisma of Indonesia, who survived Poi Tan, 17-21, 21-12, 21-19, in the lower half of the draw.
Top seed Chiang Pei Hsin of Taiwan routed Sarah Joy Barredo, 21-11, 21-11, to arrange a keenly awaited duel with Chinese Lili Wang, who thumed Alyssa Geverjuan, for a spot in the championship.
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