4th PANA Badminton Cup: Smashing Its Way to the Top!

Grip, serve, clear, drop, drive and smash! That was how the 240 participants of the 4th Philippine Association of National Advertisers (PANA) Badminton Cup spent their day at the Zone Badminton Courts last April 19, 2008.

Eager players arrived early to warm up and prepare themselves for the competitive sets ahead. Mr. Charlie Manio, PANA Auditor, welcomed the badminton enthusiasts and signaled the opening of the tournament with his ceremonial serve, together with Mr. Rod Hinanay (Tournament Director), Julie Reyes (Philippine Star) and Gilberto Manlangit (Petron).

Teams from Banco De Oro, Cebu Pacific, Globe, HBC, Johnson & Johnson, Landbank, Manila Ocean Park, McDonalds, PAGCOR, Petron, Planters Bank, PLDT, Philippine National Bank, Sara Lee, Siemens, Splash, Sunlife, the Philippine Star and Union Bank battled for the championship title of this year’s tournament. To add more fun and excitement, Bracket C was introduced to the game format.

While the heated games were ongoing, Ms. Ericka Fife, the event’s lively host, kept the energy up among the spectators and participants, by giving away a roster of attractive raffle prizes to lucky winners.

After the high-spirited and exhausting playoffs, the Philippine Star bagged the championship trophy for Bracket A, Cebu Pacific and Banco De Oro also emerged victorious as Brackets B and C champions, respectively. Runners-up were: Union Bank (Bracket A), PAGCOR (Bracket B) and Philippine National Bank (Bracket C). PANA President, Ms. Charmaine Canillas, and PANA Executive Director, Ms. Digna Santos, handed out the medals and trophies to the winning teams.

The 4th PANA Badminton Cup was presented by PANA and the Philippine Star, in cooperation with the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) and Petron Corporation. Landbank of the Philippines was the event’s patron sponsor while donors were: Abs Gen Herbs, Alaska, Boehringer-Ingelheim, Big E Foods Corp, Burlington, Citbank, Coca-Cola Export Corp, Consolidated Distillers of the Far East, Diageo Phils., Excellence Appliance Technologies, Fil-Pacific Apparel, Gandour, Gardenia Bakeries, Geo-Estate, Heritage Hotel, Kino Consumer, Liwayway Marketing, Maclin Electronics, McDonald’s, Mentos Blast Chewing Gum, Newtrends Int’l Corp, Pepsi Cola Products, Rebisco and Unilever.