UP-Allied Badminton Team displays strength in PNBO 2025
After battling through a pool of over 500 of the country’s finest shuttlers, several members of the UP-Allied Badminton Team emerged victorious in the Philippine National Badminton Open 2025, held on July 7-12, 2025, at the Rizal Memorial Sports Coliseum.
The PNBO is conducted with a single elimination format beginning with a round of 256, then cutting participants in half until only eight participants remain per category, who then go on to compete in the tournament’s quarterfinals. Successful participants move on to the semifinals, then the finals, where the category’s champion is determined.
UP-Allied clinched a podium finish for three of the PNBO’s four categories, namely: Mixed Doubles, Women’s Doubles, Men’s Doubles, and Women’s Singles. Meanwhile, Jelo Albo and Lea Inlayo, representing Smash Pilipinas, clinched the top spot in Men’s Singles and Women’s Doubles, respectively.
Mixed Doubles
In a closely contested three-set quarterfinal match, the tandem of Coach Geva de Vera (representing UP-Allied) and Hanz Christian Bernardo (representing FELET) successfully defeated the team of Sarah Barredo and James Villarante, 21-11, 14-21, 21-17, to advance to the semifinals. However, they were unable to secure a win against Airah Albo and Julius Villabrile, ultimately losing 13-21, 12-21.
Despite this setback, the duo clinched the bronze medal in the PNBO’s Mixed Doubles Category—UP-Allied’s first podium of the 2025 edition of the tournament. De Vera, a former national team player, currently lends her services to the UP-BVT as one of their senior coaches and played a pivotal role in the team’s podium finishes in the UAAP Season 87 Badminton Tournament. She also handles other local player development programs through the Whackers Badminton Academy, where she acts as Head Coach.
Men’s Doubles
In the Men’s Doubles Quarterfinals, JM Amerodin and Mike Clemente dispatched the tandem of John Benedict Gam and Clarence Villaflor in three sets, 21-19, 12-21, 21-14, to advance to the semis. Unfortunately, they succumbed to eventual champions Solomon Padiz Jr. and Julius Villabrile, 14-21, 18-21, to finish third in their category. Clemente, who captained the UP Badminton Varsity Team in the UAAP, currently serves the team as an Assistant Coach in their Developmental Program.
Also competing in this category were Mark Anthony Bernal and Arjay Philip Lazareto, who overcame Bless and Gift Linaban in the Round of 16, 21-14, 21-16, to reach the quarterfinals, where they suffered a similar fate as their seniors, falling to Padiz and Villabrile in straight sets.
Women’s Doubles
Incoming Team Captain Kimberly Lao and Season 87 MVP Anthea Gonzalez made quick work of their quarterfinal foes Trisha Acas and Eve Bejasa, 21-15, 21-12, to forge ahead into the next round. However, the duo would settle for second runner-up after a loss in their semifinals bout against defending champions Airah Albo and Lea Inlayo of Smash Pilipinas, who would go on to capture a historic three-peat in the category. Inlayo, a former Maroon standout, was part of the University of the Philippines’ UAAP Season 78 Women’s Badminton championship run, where she was also named Rookie of the Year.
Sibling duo Patricia and Krissa De Leon, both new additions to the Fighting Maroons and playing Doubles together for only the second time, seized advantage of a first-round bye to cruise through to the quarterfinals, where they met Blue Eagles Jochelle Alvarez and Althea Ocampo. The latter, alongside partner Mika de Guzman, had previously faced UP’s Dianne Libaton and Susmita Ramos in the UAAP Season 87 Badminton Finals, suffering defeat at the hands of the Maroons in straight sets.
The De Leon sisters, despite being newcomers, showed the tenacious spirit befitting the team’s name as they captured the first set against the Blue Eagles, 21-11. Regrettably, they were unable to replicate the momentum of that first set, falling in the next two sets, 13-21, 12-21.
“[Nung] second set, siguro hindi namin siya (momentum) natuloy-tuloy since syempre may coach din yung Ateneo, nabasa nila yung strategies,” expressed Patricia de Leon. “Hindi lang namin nagawan ng paraan papano namin ibabalik yung strategy namin.”
“Siguro gawa din ng kagustuhan namin na mag-semis,” added Krissa. “Hindi namin na-enjoy. Pero syempre bawi na lang next time diyan. Ngayon naman na outside of the court na, mas nalaman namin kung ano dapat yung ginawa namin since na-checkmate naman namin sila nung first set.”
“Kailangan lang talaga namin i-retain yung strategy na ginawa namin,” reiterated her sister. “Kung nawala man yung strategy na ‘yun, pwede kami mag-cook up ng alternative strategy.”
In spite of this loss, the siblings showed no signs of stopping their partnership for future UAAP seasons, as they hope their compatible play styles and overall sibling chemistry will allow them to further better their tandem.
“Sobrang dali lang talaga mag-practice anywhere kasi magkasama naman kami palagi,” said Krissa. “Siguro this UAAP (Season 88), hindi pa kase nag-reresidency pa, pero siguro yung sa following UAAP, mas pagbubutihan pa namin yung partnership namin.”
Women’s Singles
Patricia de Leon also raised the banner for UP-Allied in the Women’s Singles category, where she is ranked 4th nationally. De Leon breezed past opponents into the quarterfinals, dealing National University’s Karyll Rio a straight-set defeat, 21-12, 21-16. She would eventually finish as second runner-up after yielding to Smash Pilipinas’ Mika de Guzman in the semifinals, who then went on to clinch gold and capture the tournament’s second historic three-peat.
De Guzman’s own quarterfinal foe was the Fighting Maroons promising new rookie Brys Fuggan, who showed signs of power throughout the tournament in spite of her lack of experience. Notably, Fuggan delivered a first set bagel, 21-0, against her first round opponent, and limited her third-round opponent to the single digits.
Hailing from San Sebastian College, Fuggan was first spotted after a sparring session between her high school team and the UP-BVT. In that session, she defeated former UP captain Susmita Ramos, and went head-to-head with UAAP champion Kimberly Lao in a doubles team-up with Krissa de Leon.
In spite of such success, Fuggan believed that her quarterfinal result was wholly unexpected, as the PNBO 2025 marked her first tournament officially playing with the Fighting Maroons.
“Nung una po, excited [ako],” Fuggan said in an interview. “Tas medyo kabado ako, since, ‘yun nga, first time ko po, and first time ko rin makalaban si Mika de Guzman.”
“I thought na di po talaga ako makaka-abot ng quarters kase may rookie freeze pa tapos kabado,” she expressed further. “Pero nalagpasan naman po.”
On facing the defending champion and the Philippines’ #2 De Guzman in the quarterfinals, Fuggan found the pressure of the match to be a significant roadblock in her performance. She stated that a combination of nerves and difficulty adjusting to the environment, as well as a maiden meeting with De Guzman, kept her from delivering her best in the match-up.
The rookie also cited some advice that she received from senior team members as points for improvement in future competitions, “More training pa daw po, kaya naman daw po sumabay, mag-adjust lang po sa courts, sa environment, at sa pressure.”
The team and Fuggan are currently attending training camp in Malaysia, where she hopes to further hone her skills.
“Hopefully, buo po yung loob ko para sa training na ‘yun, at babalik po ako dito para makabawi po sa mga losses ko,” she said.
Men’s Singles
The UP-BVT’s very own Jelo Albo, representing Smash Pilipinas, successfully defended his Men’s Singles title after routing the country’s top-ranked player Clarence Villaflor in straight set fashion, 21-17, 21-17. In a moment of deja vu, Albo first had to dispatch the Philippines’ #2 player Jayson Obaob in the semifinals, succeeding once more in straight sets, 21-14, 21-10. This mirrored his matches in last year’s Philippine Badminton Open, where Albo first captured the title.
“Sino ba naman mag-eexpect na kung sino yung sino yung same opponent mo nung semifinals and finals from last year’s tournament is same match yung mangyayari this 2025 PNBO,” he said in an interview. “Ngayong year lang is a bit different kase iba yung court na nilaruan namin compared to last year and nag-iba yung mga playing style ng mga kalaban ko. So, I need to adjust [yung] game plan ko.”
Albo also got candid about the pressure that comes with being the tournament’s defending champion. “To be honest, syempre merong pressure. Di naman mawawala yung pressure na ‘yan every competition ‘eh, normal lang naman [yun],” he remarked. “Pero ang tanong dun is, ‘Paano mo ihahandle ang pressure na ‘yun?’ at ‘Paano mo siya i-oovercome?’”
Following this achievement, the Smash Pilipinas standout is now setting his sights on international tourneys, with the express goal of qualifying for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. “Meron kaming paparating na Saipan International Challenge and [Crowne Plaza Northern Marianas Open] sa may US,” said Albo. “[And] of course, sino ba naman yung hindi mag-aaim na makapasok sa Olympics. I think every athlete is dream yung makapasok ng Olympics. Hopefully lang is, tuloy-tuloy lang yung support ng PBad sa amin at makapag-compete at training kami abroad nang mas marami pang beses.”
Apart from his national team duties, Albo also aims to carry-over his success to the UAAP, expressing his hopes of reaching a higher podium finish than last year’s bronze. “We’re aiming for gold,” he stated. “First palang naman na pag-pasok ko sa UAAP is ina-aim ko na talaga sa sarili ko na, kahit papano man lang, maka-champion sa university games na ‘yan.”
The two-time champion also had some wisdom to impart for every aspiring badminton player in the country.
“Syempre, don’t lose hope,” he asserted. “Kumbaga, mag-training kayo ng maayos. Alam kong mahirap, marami kayong pagdadaanan na pagsubok, pero kakayanin niyo kase tao lang rin kami. Dumaan din kami diyan na kung ano yung struggle ng pagiging athlete, especially student-athlete, hindi naging madali. So, kung kaya namin, syempre kaya niyo rin dapat. Mindset lang. Nothing is impossible, and magtiwala kayo kay Lord na someday, one day, makakamit niyo rin kung ano yung pangarap niyo.”
Finally, as a cheeky response to a video of him celebrating a quarterfinal victory against Ateneo’s Lyrden Laborte that recently went viral on Instagram, Albo maintained that he was simply carried away by emotions and a desire to defend his teammates.
“Naging a little bit personal siya for me kase, kumbaga ginawa niya sa teammates ko,” he said. “Yung team nila, kada tatalunin nila, sasayawan nila. Kung pwede nga lang ako yung tumapat sa buong Ateneo, sayawan ko sila, why not diba? So parang pangit man siya pakinggan, kumbaga di na dapat gawin pero, wala. Sila naman nagsimula so pinagtanggol ko lang yung mga teammates ko.”
Also in this category was UAAP Season 87 Rookie of the Year Shan Clar, who made it as far as the Round of 16, where he fell in a tight game against Ateneo player and the Philippines’ #9 Arthur Samuel Jr. Salvado, 21-16, 16-21, 20-22. Similarly, UP upstart and the Philippines’ #8 Kervin Llanes, who had spent S87 sidelined due to injury, secured victories in his first two matchups before ultimately falling short against Mark Velasco in the Round of 16, 18-21, 19-21.
Below is the full list of participants from the UP-Allied Badminton Team:
Men’s Singles
- *Albo, Jewel Angelo – representing Smash Pilipinas
- Llanes, Kervin
- Clar, Shan
- Estrada, JM
- Dupet, Ethan Josh
- Amerodin, Mohammad Jalmer
Women’s Singles
- Ramos, Susmita Angelique
- Gonzalez, Anthea Marie
- Fuggan, Brys Ellewis
- Zapanta, Kahrene Ivy
- De Vera, Angelli
- De Leon, Patricia
Men’s Doubles
- Bernal, Mark Anthony & Lazareto, Arjay Philip
- Rivera, Enzo & Mendoza, Ryan
- Martinez, Joshua & Cruz, Kian
- Martinez, Lance & Abinales, Raydric
- Libardo, Phoenix & Tañada, Ralph
- Bartolome, Munir & Miranda, Justin Bryan
- Clemente, Michael Adrian & Amerodin, Mohammad Jalmer
Women’s Doubles
- Gonzalez, Anthea Marie & Lao, Kimberly
- Postrano, Trisha & Dela Cruz, Eisen Anoushei
- De Vera, Angelli & Condeno, Keicy Lei
- De Leon, Patricia & De Leon, Krissa Marie
- Paz, Anielka Maeve & Eanne, Quiamcoo
- Bualat, Ella & Comia, Danica
- *Albo, Airah & Inlayo, Lea – alumni, currently representing Smash Pilipinas
Mixed Doubles
- Bernal, Mark Anthony & Lao, Kimberly
- Mendoza, Ryan & Condeno, Keicy Lei
- Rivera, Enzo & De Leon, Krissa Marie
- Lazareto, Arjay Philip & Mabale, Alhana Clarisse (NU)
- Bernardo, Hanz Christian (FELET) & De Vera, Joella Geva