JEMYCA Aribado handily ruled the women’s singles while Reymark Begornia faded in the stretch in the men’s singles finals as hometown bets split top honors in the Philippine Satellite 1 squash tournament held over the weekend at the National Squash Training Center of the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
After dropping the first set 8-11, top-seeded Aribado came back strong to surge past South Korean Mingyeong Heo 8-11, 15-13, 11-5, 11-4, 11-8 after 32 minutes in the meet organized by the Philippine Squash Academy.
Preventing a singles sweep for the hosts was second-seeded Sri Lankan Shamil Wakeel, who subdued No. 1 seed Begornia in the men’s finals 11-7, 7-11, 11-9, 8-11, 11-9, a gripping marathon match that lasted 63 minutes.
Wakeel prevented what could have been an all-Filipino finale by eliminating David Pelino 9-11, 11-6, 11-3, 11-1 in the semifinals of the competition offering Professional Squash Association world ranking points to the winners.
Aribado and Wakeel earned $1,000 (around P57,365) each.
National squash team coach Wee Wern Low cited Aribado’s triumph, the athlete’s third PSA title since the Malaysian mentor took over the Kayod Pilipinas program.
Low also cited the grit and determination displayed by Begornia in pushing his Sri Lankan rival to the max in the event where PSA executive director Robert Bachmann awarded the medals and trophies to the winners.
“Expect more from our Kayod Pilipinas athletes as they continue their journey in the PSA World Tour,” said Bachmann, who is leaving no stone unturned in seeing a Filipino player qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics when the discipline makes its debut as an Olympic sport.
