Thursday, May 01, 2008 Pages: Busy, sporty weekend awaits Cebu By John Pages Match Point
WHERE will you be? Who will you watch? Which sport will you gaze at? Golf? Kart racing? Tennis? Mountain-biking? Or how about observing how horses gallop, sprint and prance during the Rodeo Show in Mandaue?
This long May 1 to 4 weekend, from what I’ve seen, will be one of the most crowded of sporting weekends....
TENNIS. First, from this Sunday to next Sunday—that’s May 4 to 11—the premiere tennis players in our country will congregate and display their talents to all Cebuanos.
The Cebuana Lhuillier Men’s Open—headlined by Johnny Arcilla and PJ Tierro—will be held at the Baseline Tennis Club. The main draw, when the top 20 players will start playing, won’t start until Tuesday (May 6) but the Qualifying Event will commence this Saturday (May 3). All interested to join can proceed to Baseline, look for Joc-Joc and fill up the registration form. Fee is P500—inclusive of both singles and doubles fees. A total of eight slots will be available to all qualifiers—so hurry and register now.
GOLF. The 2007 Club Championships of the Cebu Country Club is underway this whole week and, once more, it’s time for golfers who enjoy top-level competition to get excited. Last Monday afternoon, I chanced upon visiting the club and saw Toby Florendo and Macky Michael. There, I also met Atty. Jovi Neri. The former club champion (and 4-handicapper) felt proud not because he was the fifth-seed player but because, in his words, “eight of the 16 players who qualified in the Class-A are jungolfers.”
This is unprecedented. And Jovi Neri has reason to feel proud. That Monday, I saw him stand outdoors, never mind the rain pounding down, helping young talents learn golf. As head of the CCC jungolf program, Jovi has helped many, many juniors. Watch for his juniors to scare the likes of Montito Garcia, Eric Deen and Carl Almario.
MTB. On to mountain-biking: The first Congressman Red Durano International Road and Mountain Bike event will be held at the “MTB capital of RP”—Danao City. Over 600 men and women wearing tight-fit shorts, helmets, multi-colored jerseys will join—including 2005 SEA Games gold medalists Ali Usman from Indonesia and RP’s Marites Bitbit.
There are plenty of categories. There’s a 130-km. road race. There’s a 2.5-km. downhill competition. And, the most popular of events, a cross-country MTB race on a 7-km. rough-road loop.
Thanks to the MTB-loving Durano family—led by Danao City Mayor Ramonito Durano, who still pedals several times each week and is superbly-fit—and to Oscar “Boying” Rodriguez, one of the country’s top officials in MTB, this event will be a roller-coaster of a ride.
KARTING. Yesterday, I visited Jose “Dodong” Gullas at his UV office to discuss the upcoming Gullas Tennis Cup (scheduled May 26 to 30). Didi Gullas, a consummate lover of all sports, was there; and so was JohnVic Gullas. A major tennis buff, JohnVic told me about this weekend’s karting race at Kart Zone. “It will be the biggest event in Cebu for the year and many participants from all over the country will be there to join.” Watch it!
CASINO. The Copa de Casino Español golf tournament also tees off tomorrow at the Alta Vista. Then, after a whole day of swinging white balls and escaping sand traps, the participants gather at the ballroom of Casino Español for drinks, food and the awarding ceremony. Thanks to Nonoy Tirol, a Class-A golfer (and former Class-A tennis star), the Copa is a smash.
RODEO. And, finally, organized by the Cebu Equine Owners, Breeders and Sportsmen’s Association, Inc. (Ceobsa), over at the Mandaue reclamation area is the First Sen. Juan Miguel F. Zubiri Cup National Rodeo.
Each year, Ceobsa hosts a barrel-racing and horse-riding event—but never a rodeo competition. At least, not in the last decade. “It’s been 10 long years since we did something like this,” said Anton Quisumbing, one of the founders of Ceobsa and the event chairman.
From tennis volleys to go-karting to the rodeo bump, it will be one fun ride of a weekend.
