On the third day of the MVP Cup the Asian Team clinched the title as the strongest badminton continent. It was however Europe that went up 5-7 on the night after a close win from Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson against the home darlings Kennie and Kennevic Ascuncion. In the end the Asian singles proved to big a mouthful and good fights from Yao Yie and Anders Boesen could not prevent the Asian Team to decide the match 11-7 in their favour.
The mixed double went to to Gail Emms and Nathan Roberson with 12-15, 17-14, 15-1 giving the European supporters quite a scare by being down with a match point in the second set. This match against the Philippino Ascuncion siblings was the highlight of the day capturing the crowd on the final day of the MVP Cup Asia vs. Europe Badminton Championship at the packed Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Despite the loss of the hometown bets, Team Asia, behind a sweep of the ladies's and men's singles, still managed to capture top honors in the inaugural international event held in honor of PLDT boss Manny V. Pangilinan, who was in the audience and celebrating his 48th birthday that day
China's Zhang Ning, the reigning Olympic champion, got the better of Holland's Yao Jie, 11-8, 11-0, while world No. 1 compatriot Lin Dan whipped Denmark's Anders Boesen, 15-1, 15-6, completing the Asian victory.
Team Asia, which scored a total of 11 points, took the top honors and the team prize of $50,000 while Team Europe, which wound up with 7 points, settled for $30,000.
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