Phl pickleballers pick up silver, bronze

The Philippines picked up a silver and bronze medal in the mixed doubles XD35+ advanced category of the Asian Open Pickleball Championships last Friday in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Johner Ombrezo and Grace Woo made it all the way to the final but lost to Boon Chia Ping and Lauren Ling of Singapore, 0-11, 5-11, in the gold medal match.

The Filipino pair finished second in Group C and delivered a close 15-14 win over hometown bets Ha Mai and Xuan Toan in the quarterfinal.

They then defeated Karl Zoleta and Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Bien Zoleta 15-12 in an all-Filipino semifinal to make it to the final.

Not wanting to be outclassed, the Zoleta siblings ended their campaign in the category on a high note after a 11-0, 5-11, 11-5 win over Vietnamese players Phan Thi Van Trinh and Bui Xuan Ha in the bronze medal match.

Karl took to social media to thank Bien for her efforts in their conquest.

“Another medal with Bien Zoleta, It was one of the toughest matches I played. A nerve-wrecking 3 set win 11-0,5-11,11-10,” Karl said.

“Thanks Bien for always saving your kuya.”

Bien and her sister Bambi Zoleta are currently competing for ESM Pro Team of Malaysia in the women’s team challenge 35+ as of press time.