Staunch advocates of badminton and inspired by PLDT and Philippine Badminton Association (PBAD) Chairman Manuel V. Pangilinan’s love for the sport, the MVP Sports Foundation (MVPSF) and Smart have been supporting PBAD for many years now. Aside from building the MVP Center for Sports Excellence in Antipolo in 2021 – which houses eight courts where the national athletes can train, the MVPSF will also back PBAD in the mounting of the Philippine Badminton Open in Makati City on February 20-26, 2023. This will be part of the national team’s preparation for the 32nd Southeast Asian Games to be held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in May this year.

“Aside from contributing to the training of our national team, we are also maximizing opportunities to support the development of badminton in our country – from grassroots to our national team. Our love for badminton stems from the belief that sports promote values like discipline, mental resilience, and sportsmanship, which could help us all become better people,” said Christopher Quimpo, AVP at Smart and Secretary-General of PBAD.

Expected to bring in 500 to 600 players in five divisions – men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles – the Super 500 tournament will have a total of P1,000,000 prize pot. PBAD will also introduce the country’s first official ranking system for badminton this year.

Interested athletes can register through the tournament's official portal: (https://tinyurl.com/PHIBadmintonOpen)on or before Feb. 5, 2023.

PLDT wireless unit Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) has also lauded the performance of Filipino smashers in their campaign for 2022. The national team has risen in global rankings because of these consecutive podium finishes in the past couple of months.

“We are very proud of our Philippine national badminton team. We’ve always seen their potential and we are glad to see them reaping the fruits of their labor. We still have a long way to go, but with the right support and right team to back our players, we know that they can succeed,” said Jude Turcuato, Head of Sports at PLDT and Smart.

Alvin Morada and Christian Bernardo bagged the Men’s Doubles Championship in the Benin International 2022, Runner Up place in the Yonex-Sunrise Bangladesh International Challenge 2022 and VN Da Thanh – Felet Vietnam International Series 2022. The Filipino national team also bagged the Mixed Doubles championship with Morada and Alyssa Ysabel Leonardo, Mixed Doubles runner up place with Bernardo and Thea Marie Pomar, and Women’s Doubles gold medal with Pomar and Leonardo in the same Vietnamese tourney.

The Philippines also bagged Men’s Doubles champion with Bernardo and Morada, Women’s Doubles bronze medal with Pomar and Leonardo, Mixed Doubles champion with Morada and Leonardo, and Mixed Doubles bronze medal with Pomar and Bernardo in the Cameroon International held last year.

All these achievements have boosted the country’s ranks in global badminton – pushing the Philippines to the 66th place in the world.