CCC leans on 15-yr-old rookie to take 2nd spot

Davao City—Cebu Country Club, a team still searching for its first taste of glory at the Championship division of the Philippine Airlines (PAL) Interclub, opened its title bid in promising fashion after tying for second place in the event’s 65th edition at the Ranchos Palos Verdes Golf and Country Club.

CCC, rulers of the Founders division with seven titles to their name, had 123 points, the same opening output of defending champion Del Monte. They trail opening round leader Alabang by one point.

The story is actually a recurrence of last year’s tournament wherein CCC led after the first round only to taper off in the later stages to eventually finish in second place. This year, with powerhouse Canlubang taking a leave, the race appears to be wide open and CCC is looking to take full advantage.

CCC was led by 15-year-old PAL Interclub rookie Gen Nagai who shot a two-over par, good for 34 points. He was followed by Bayani Garcia (32), Carl Almario (29) and Jovi Neri, who tumbled with a five-over on his last four holes for a 28. Marko Sarmiento also carded a 28 but did not count.

CCC is hoping to regain lost ground today when they visit the Apo Golf and Country Club.

“We didn’t play that well to be honest with you. We didn’t field our strongest team and a rookie played the best for us today. The course played hard and it was longer than before,” said Neri, the squad’s official spokesperson.

Neri said that is imperative that they do well today, considering the historical implications of it in the tournament.

“Historically, the tournament is won over at the Apo course. As you can see, there’s not much separation between the teams today (yesterday) but we all anticipate that they will make it up tomorrow (today),” Neri added.

Nagai will play again today alongside the formidable foursome composed of Sportswriters Association of Cebu (SAC) awardee Lloyd Jefferson Go, Gio Gandionco, Eric Deen and Mark Dy. Go gushed with excitement and confidence as he stated on his Twitter account, “We may not be leading but lets just see after tomorrow. The fire hasn’t burned yet.”

Gandionco was also pumped up to play as he said, “Our team played pretty alright today. Can’t wait to play tomorrow!”

ALABANG LEADS

First round leader Alabang was paced by Santiago Lorenzo’s 33 and Miguel Shah’s 32. Andres Saldana added 31 while the other Lorenzo, Basti, added 28.

Defending champion Del Monte, seeking its first title away from their home green, was led by the 31 points of Banny Abano, Leonard Lofranco and Julius Bautista while skipper, Yoyong Velez contributed 30 markers.

Meanwhile, in the Founders division also played at Palos Verdes, Alta Vista struggled in sixth place with 104 points. Gabriel Yap scored 30 and was backstopped by David Park’s 29, Marvin Mendoza’s 25 and Victor Gocela’s 22. The division is currently led by Orchard and Wack-Wack which had 117 points.

In the Sportswriters division played at Apo, Cebu squads Mactan (87) and Club Filipino (70) trailed big time against leader Mt. Malindang, which opened with 111 points.

Hong Kil Seo led Mactan with 25 while Efren Gica and Pio Barandog each had a 23. Gerardo Gamorado chipped in a 16 while Kim Agatep’s 15 did not count.

For Club Filipino, Razie Razon and Raymond Garcia got 22 each while Peter Militante and Kenneth Dyguani scored 13 apiece. Jiji Gullas’ 12 did not count.