A day after besting former Olympic silver medalists Tri Kusharianto and Minarti Timur of Indonesia, 21-15, 21-18, the brother-sister tandem found the going tougher against the fancied Thais as they were forced to dash from all corners while trying to save a barrage of smashes coming from the power-hitting Prapakamol.

Thoungthongkam also came through with her own hits and net points to compliment well with Prapakamol, who never seemed to have run out of energy while pounding on those winners from behind his teammate.

The Thais, the 2003 Vietnam Southeast Asian Games gold medallists, thus won the top ,320 while the Filipinos, who skidded from 22nd last year to 68th in the world rankings, settled for ,800.

Down 16-29, Kennevic dove for a return on a solid Parapakom smash, stood up for a drop shot that Thoungthongkam returned straight to net, giving the Filipinos the point and sending a huge, boisterous crowd into frenzy.

Their brilliance, however, came in flashes as Prapakamol dictated the tempo all through out the match with his overpowering performance, capping the game with thunderous smash to the chagrin of the big Sunday crowd.

"It really helped playing before our countrymen, this is our best game against them in three games," said Kennie.

Earlier, Indian sensation Saina Nehwal trounced fifth seed Wong Pei Xian of Malaysia, 21-15, 22-20, to clinch the women’s singles title, capping a Cinderella performance in this four-star event, IBF-ranking tournament sponsored by Bingo Bonanza, JVC Phils., Inc., Smart and PLDT.

The victory clinched the 16-year-old Hyderabad native the top purse worth ,280, the trophy, the adoration of the Filipino fans and enough points to move her up further in the world rankings from 86th.

"I’m really happy because I didn’t expect to win here, I was just here for exposure," said Nehwal, whose worthiest effort before this was a quarterfinal finish in the Asian Badminton Championship last month in Johore Baru, Malaysia.

It was also a triumph that should make her countrymen happy.

In men’s singles, Malaysian Hashing Muhd Hafiz, the 2005 Manila Southeast Asian Games bronze medallist, lived up to top billing by beating elder brother Hashim Rosling, 21-19, 21-7, to pocket the top prize amounting to ,600.

Indonesia’s Jo Novita and Gresya Polii walloped compatriots Nur Sugianti Endang and Rani Mundiasti, 21-16, 21-13, to cop the women’s doubles title together with the ,320 that went with it.

In men’s doubles, Albertus Susanto Njoto and Yohan Hadikusumo Wiratama of Hong Kong, China rallied from a first set loss to shock third seed Hendra Gunawan and Joko Riyadi of Indonesia, 15-21, 21-19, 21-18.

It was the Hong Kong pair’s second three-set triumph following a pulsating 22-24, 21-11, 21-15 stunner over second pick Sudket Prapakamol and Patapol Ngernsrisuk of Thailand in Saturday’s semifinals.