Chiongbian-Celdran rules 25th Coral

The tandem of Jonji Chiongbian and Mike Celdran found the opposition fall one after the other in yesterday's final round of the 25th Coral Invitational at the Cebu Country Club to bag the overall title of the event. Chiongbian and Celdran fired a two-day aggregate of 156 points on rounds of 74 and 82 in the Modified Stableford Scoring System. Chiongbian had rounds of 41 and 44 while Celdran, his brother-in-law, shot 33 and 38. First runner-up honors went to the pair of Wendell Yap and Roy Damole, which carded 155 points (75-80).

Yap scored 36 on the first round and added 41 on the second. Damole shot identical rounds of 39 points. Henry Chin Uy and Stewart Go bagged the 2nd runner-up plum shooting 151 points on rounds of 75 and 76. They won the award after pulling past the duo of Arturo Go and Jimmy Cham in the countback.

Uy fired rounds of 38 and 38 while Go made 37 and 38. The team with the best score on the first day was the duo of Lucio Tapnio and Roger Lo with 79 points. They won the award after pulling past two other teams in the countback.

First runner-up for the first round were Collin Go and Ray Lim while 2nd runner-up were Benson Chua and Alfredo Ong, Jr. Both teams also scored 79 points.

The best performing team for the second round was that of Macky Michael and Dino Yap with 79 points. They also pulled past two others in the countback.

First runner-up was the team of Hidetaka Murano and Morio Nihei while former Cebu City Mayor Alvin Garcia and former Senator Tito Sotto finished as 2nd runner-up. The overall lowest gross plum went to the duo of former pro and many-time club champion Carl Almario and Jun Plana with a two-day output of 137 points.

Senior's Division

The long-time partnership of Wellington Lim and Retired Commodore Danny Pizarro ran away with the title for this category exclusive for teams with total ages of 120 years with a total of 154 points on rounds of 78 and 76.

Lim shot rounds of 47 and 42 while Pizarro carded 31 and 34. Orly Israel and Ben Paca bagged the 1st runner-up honors with a total of 150 points (78-72). Israel shot 40 and 32 while Paca made 38 and 40.

Second runner-up was the team of Bugs Unchuan and Jose 'Pito' Alvarez with 146 points on rounds of 71 and 75. Unchuan made 39 and 47 while Alvarez had 32 and 28.

The best performance for the first day was scored by the duo of Victoriano Go and Artemio Tuquero with 78 points.

First runner-up was the team of Asisclo Gonzaga and Rudy Cuenca with 73 while Albert Cang and Don Kennedy were 2nd runner-up with 72.

The best score for the second round was made by the team of Claro Cinco and Roberto Pangan with 77 points. First runner-up was the duo of Ricardo Go and George Go with 76 winning via the countback over brothers Ricarte and Rolly Santos, who settled for the 2nd runner-up honors.

Special Prizes

In the guest division, the tandem of Martin Kleger and Cesar Arce won the title with a total of 76 points. Kelly Ho and Ricky Lee were second with 52. The best in uniform award went to two teams.

The first winner was the duo of Hernan Streegan and Lito Mangulabnan, who wore identical items for two days. Also winning the award was the duo of Lim and Pizarro, who did not only wear matching items outside, but also their underwear, according to sources.