ANTIPOLO CITY.– Lyrden Laborte cleared two matches in a day to advance to the next round in both the men’s singles and men’s doubles events at the Philippine Badminton Open 2024 Thursday at the First Pacific Leadership Academy (FPLA) here.
Laborte, a UAAP Season 86 co-MVP, defeated JVMBC’s John Vincent Macabenta in a 21-3, 21-2 victory that, despite the scoreline, lasted for 21 minutes.
He then partnered with fellow Ateneo upstart Charles Bagasbas to secure a 21-11, 21-9 win over Kryzler Villanueva and Zachary Chua of the Bianca Carlos Badminton Academy in the Round of 128 of the men’s doubles event in this Philippine Super 500 tournament supported by Smart, Mizuno, the Philippine Sports Commission, and the MVP Sports Foundation.
“After naman ng UAAP, hindi kami tumigil ng preparation kasi ni-lu-look forward talaga namin ‘tong mga next tournaments,” said the 21-year-old Blue Eagle.
“For me, nung nanalo ako ng MVP, tapos na ‘yon eh. Sa tournament na ‘to kumbaga fresh start, pero it motivates me na pag-igihan at para ma-prove ko sa sarili ko na deserve ko ‘yon.”
Laborte’s day is far from over as the Cebu City native is scheduled to face Jc Clarito in the Round of 64 in singles play later in the day in this competition sponsored by Jollibee, Chowking, and the FPLA.
