Team Yellow wins SM Investments Media Dinksgiving pickleball tournament
Journalists from several Davao City newsrooms took part in the pickleball event at The Grind in Lanang, where Team Yellow beat Team Pink in the final.
Team Yellow won the SM Investments Media Dinksgiving 2026, a pickleball tournament for media practitioners held on Thursday evening, Nov. 12, at The Grind in Lanang, Davao City, according to SunStar. Team Pink finished second.
Team Yellow beat Team Pink in two games in the championship match, 11-2 and 11-10. The winning team was made up of Che Palicte of the Philippine News Agency, Nova Francas of Mindanao Times, Angie Chagas of Bombo Radyo Davao and Armando Fenequito Jr. of Radyo Pilipinas Davao.
Team Pink was made up of Marianne L. Saberon-Abalayan, Cristina E. Alivio and Gem Audrey Alicaya of SunStar Davao, along with Rudolph Alama of the Philippine Information Agency.
Team Blue took third place after beating Team Purple. Its players were Maya Padillo and Lean Daval Jr. of Edge Davao, JC Aliponga of PTV Davao and Ian Garcia of Mindanao Times.
The champions received a trophy, medals and gift certificates. Teams Pink and Blue also received medals and gift certificates. Organisers gave out special prizes after the games.
The event is SM's annual thanksgiving activity for Davao City's media practitioners. SM vice president for corporate communications Owen Cammayo and SM Supermalls Mindanao senior assistant vice president for marketing Russel Alaba attended.
Cammayo said organisers chose pickleball as a way to bring members of the media together. He described it as the fastest-growing sport and said it is "very inclusive, very similar to how SM is."
According to SunStar, most participants were new to pickleball. Experienced players coached them before the mini tournament started.
Why it matters for Davao
The event brought together journalists from several Davao City newsrooms and showed the growing local interest in pickleball.
This article was written by the DavaoNews desk with AI assistance, using reporting by SunStar. Facts come from the original report, which we credit and link below. Our editorial policy
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