Top seed Rabie Jayson Oba-ob opened his title bid at the Philippine Badminton Open 2024 in style with a rousing 21-16, 21-8 victory in the Round of 128 of the men's singles event against Kirk Nathan Abarquez on Wednesday, June 5, at the First Pacific Leadership Academy (FPLA) here. ANTIPOLO CITY -- Top seed Rabie Jayson Oba-ob opened his title bid at the Philippine Badminton Open 2024 in style with a rousing 21-16, 21-8 victory in the Round of 128 of the men's singles event against Kirk Nathan Abarquez on Wednesday, June 5, at the First Pacific Leadership Academy (FPLA) here. Oba-ob, who hails from Zamboanga City and represents the Philippine Air Force, needed just 29 minutes to defeat the De La Salle University recruit Abarquez.
He had to pull off a huge comeback after being down 3-11 at the first interval in this Philippine Super 500 tournament, which is backed by Smart, Mizuno, the Philippine Sports Commission, and the MVP Sports Foundation. "Nag-prepare naman po ako for this tournament pero no pressure naman po sa 'kin. One reason na no pressure is wala naman na po ako sa national team.
I just gave my best po," said the 31-year-old National University product. The erstwhile national squad standout will take on University of San Carlos' Luis Bernie Comiso, who fashioned out a dominant 21-18, 21-9 decision over Mega Smasher's Liam Johan Cack in the Round of 64 when the week-long tilt sponsored by Jollibee, Chowking, and FPLA resumes action on Thursday. Elsewhere in this top.
