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Friday, February 24, 2006
CCC moves to 2nd spot
By Jobannie C. Tabada Of Sun.Star Cebu
DAVAO CITY – Defending champion Cebu Country Club (CCC) and history-seeking Canlubang made giant strides to shake up their respective divisions yesterday. Only one got the result it truly wanted.
Another Cebu team, Alta Vista Golf and Country Club, also made a giant leap despite suffering a two-point deduction yesterday as Ed Acain, Benjamin Hing, Jufil Sato and Gene Aznar pooled together 106 points in the second round to climb from sixth to third place in the Sportswriters division.
Sweep
Canlubang, seeking its first sweep of the premier Championship division titles, overhauled a double-digit deficit to grab the Championship division lead in the Philippine Airlines Men’s Regular Interclub, thanks largely to the big scoring of its three debuting players and the unexpected relapse of overnight leader and defending champion Manila Southwoods, which fielded a different five for the second round.
CCC, which stumbled on Wednesday’s opening round of the Founders division at the Apo Golf and Country Club, rebounded strongly at Rancho Palos Verdes Golf and Country Club, improving on its first-round 103 with 119 points yesterday to move from fourth to joint second with Sta. Elena with a two-round 222 each.
But while both teams figured well in the scoring department, only Canlubang got to where it wanted to be, turning a 10-point gap to a sizeable 11-point lead over Manila Southwoods after submitting 145 points against Southwoods’ 123 yesterday.
CCC did not get the same help from surprise Founders leader Wack Wack, which followed up its 116 on opening day with 120 points yesterday to remain at the top with a two-round 236, 14 points ahead of CCC and Sta. Elena.
Eric Deen led CCC with 31 points, Marko Sarmiento posted 28 points, while Nonoy Tirol and William Hong had 29 apiece. Joseph Stevens’ 28 did not count.
Sta. Elena, at joint second with Riviera after round one, scored 113 points yesterday, while Riviera collapsed with a measly 96 to drop to sixth with 205 points. Negros Occidental (221), Forest Hills (218) and Valley Golf (206) rounded out the top five.
Top point maker
The Founders division returns to Apo Golf today with team captain Montito Garcia, Jovi Neri, Jojo Tiongko, Mark Dy and Carl Almario suiting up for the third-round. Neri, Dy and Almario, who is the top point maker of the team when it won the title in Bacolod City last year, make their debut appearance in Davao.
After just 94 points in the first round at Apo Golf, Alta Vista had a much improved production at Rancho Palos Verdes Golf and Country Club with Aznar leading the pack with 30 points. Ed Acain added 29 points, Benjamin Hing had 26, while Jufil Sato had 23. Koichi Horii’s 19 did not count.
Alta Vista now has a two-round 203, seven strokes behind host team Rancho Palos Verdes, which wrested the lead from Villamor with a two-round 210 after carding 108 yesterday. Villamor dropped to second with a two-round 205.
Alta Vista actually had 108 points yesterday but was assessed a two-point deduction after Horii tapped in on hole 12 after missing a bogey shot. It was the same infraction committed by CCC’s Stevens in round one.
The other Cebu team in the Sportswriters division, Mactan Coral, has 138 points at the 12th spot.
Canlubang’s second-round plan was simple and highly effective.
“I simply fielded four guys who are familiar with the course,” said Canlubang team manager Luigi Yulo, who successfully debuted in the Seniors Interclub, helping Canlubang nail its first Seniors title last week. “It worked.”
With the Championship division’s second round played at the Apo Golf and Country Club, Yulo turned to Davao City natives Jay Bayron, Jonel Ababa, Mario Labajo and Boyet Saragoza, all former caddies at Apo Golf, and Zambaonga-native Mark Fernando.
Sponsors of the tournament are Action Asia, Airbus, Boeing, GE Aviation, GMA 7, Honda Cars Davao, INQ7.net, Joey 92.3, Royal Caribbean International; Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corp., People Asia, Premier Wine & Spirits, Rudy Project, UMBN and Uraya Land Development Corp..
Corporate backers are ABS-CBN International, Fortune Tobacco and Radio Mindanao Network, 96.3 Wrock, Asia Brewery, Century Park Hotel, Honda Megamotors Corporation, SM City Davao and Tanduay Rhum.
The plan worked perfectly well as Ababa, a former national caddies champion, and Bayron scored 37 points each, while Labajo had 34. Although Saragoza’s 32 did not count in the five-to-pay-four-to-count format, Fernando’s 36 points was more than enough to lift Canlubang to the top.
Fernando, Ababa, Bayron and Saragosa debuted for the team yesterday, while Labajo led Canlubang in the first round with 35 points.
Mike BiBat finished with 35 points for Southwoods yesterday, but his teammates could not do no better than 31 points.
Erwin Vinluan had 31, Gene Bondoc 29 and Jong Laput 28, while Hanson So Jr.’s 27 did not count. All five played for the first time.
Canlubang now has a two-round 279, followed by Southwoods with 268. Del Monte, which was second after the first round, dropped to third after managing only 129 points yesterday for a two-day 265.
The Championship division returns to Palos Verdes today with Canlubang out to protect its lead in its bid to score a sweep of the Championship titles following its Senior team’s victory on Saturday.
In the Friendship division, Stanford’s second-round crew managed only 77 points yesterday after a 98 on Wednesday, but continues to lead with a two-round 175, three points ahead of Maharlika. Zamboanga is third with 172 points.
The tournament uses the PAL scoring system, which awards one point for a bogey, two for par, three for birdie, four for
eagle, five for an ace and six for a double eagle.
Sponsors of the tournament are Action Asia, Airbus, Boeing, GE Aviation, GMA 7, Honda Cars Davao, INQ7.net, Joey 92.3, Royal Caribbean International; Philippine Amusements and Gaming Corp., People Asia, Premier Wine & Spirits, Rudy Project, UMBN and Uraya Land Development Corp..
Corporate backers are ABS-CBN International, Fortune Tobacco and Radio Mindanao Network, 96.3 Wrock, Asia Brewery, Century Park Hotel, Honda Megamotors Corporation, SM City Davao and Tanduay Rhum.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (February 24, 2006 issue)
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