Badminton action at the MIA Badminton Center in Pasay City, October 25, 2025. Paige Javier, ABS-CBN News
MANILA -- Back for its second year, the Rotary Club of New Manila South is expanding its signature project "RotaSmash" to support grassroots sports development.
In the second edition of the tournament, 12 local clubs battled it out at the MIA Badminton Center in Pasay City on Saturday.
Aside from their "Champions of Change" Keicy Lei Condeno and Nathan Acedillo, the Rotary Club of New Manila South added a new beneficiary for the project.
"The main difference from last year is we got a new beneficiary. That is the junior select team of the Philippine Badminton Association. We also renewed our commitment to support Nathan Acedilo of Adamson University and Keicy Lei Condeno of UP Diliman," Rotary Club of New Manila South President Bea Santos told ABS-CBN News.
READ: Young stars take center stage in Kids’ Badminton Tournament in QC
By throwing their support to young athletes, the club hopes to help produce world-class talent like tennis star Alex Eala and Olympic pole vaulter EJ Obiena
"Naisip namin, why not help them [junior select team] and do more for the community. Ang pinaka challenge ng young athletes is budget. We want to show them there's a future in sports lalo na dito sa Pilipinas. May chance talaga ang Pilipinas to enter the world stage sa badminton," she said.
"It's not just the equipment or the monetary support na binibigay namin. We also show them that there are people rooting for them, not just us sa Rotary Club, but also our RotaSmash community that is behind them all the way," she said.
PBAD Head of Development Melvin Nubla welcomed the partnership with Rotary Club of New Manila South to help their junior select team.
"Whatever proceeds we get from this tournament, we actually give it to the junior pool. The junior pool allows them to attend their practice, for whatever expense they may cover," Nubla said.
"Mahirap for the kids when they go here, may mga gastos sila. Pamasahe nila, food nila, accommodations nila going here. This really helps, malaking bagay siya. Hindi madali for an underaged athlete to train and compete in an international level," he added.
PBAD currently has 22 players in the junior pool, some of which are from Baguio, Mindanao and other parts of the country.
"Badminton has a lot of potential or opportunity for Filipinos. It is an individual sport. If you look at the top 10 players in the world, majority of that is in Asia. It means kaya natin. Ang kailangan lang talaga is exposure sa mga bata, tamang mindset," Nubla said.
The club scaled up the one-day tournament, which is a 'Battle of the Clubs' with men's, women's and mixed divisions.
"We have a team event to enable our community to participate more and to give back to our beneficiaries. Kasi we believe that sa badminton, sobrang lakas talaga ng efforts ng clubs to do queueings and other activities. So naisip namin why not channel all those activities into service projects," Santos explained.
READ: RotaSmash seeks to add more ‘Champions of Change’ scholar-athletes
DREAMS TURNED INTO REALITY
Badminton action at the MIA Badminton Center in Pasay City, October 25, 2025. Paige Javier, ABS-CBN News
One of their 'Champions for Change' Cendeno, is living her dream by studying in the University of the Philippines and being part of the women's badminton team.
Santos said they are happy to see Cendeno achieve her dreams, with the hopes she can inspire young athletes who have the same aspirations.
"Sobrang proud namin kay Keicey kasi we saw her grow up in badminton. She's from Bulacan and she started with us last year as a senior high student. Until now, pumasok siya sa UP Diliman, which is dream school niya. Siyempre proud kami we were part of her journey," she shared.
"Talagang ang objective namin is to help the youth in any way we can. Siyempre sports malaking factor yan in character development and siyempre sa discipline ng mga bata," Santos added.
Nubla said they are proud of Cendeno, a standout juniors player, for her achievement.
"At the end of the day for PBAD, it's a huge fulfillment namin to see a kid from grassroots level na gumaling ng gumaling. I hope it continues to be a motivation for the rest of the players na magsusumikap ka lang, magtiyaga ka lang, you will achieve yung gusto mo mangyari," he said.
When asked what's next for RotaSmash after this edition's turnout, Santos said the club aims to make it bigger and have more teams join.
"Next year we're seeing if we can do another battle of the clubs. Kasi nga ang nakita namin dito sobrang lakas ng community spirit ng badminton na they're banding together and they're joining forces para manalo and to support the beneficiaries," she said.
With pickleball becoming a fast-growing sport in the country, Santos said the club is studying the possibility of mounting a tournament next year.