Teen power

Cebu Country Club is adding some teen spirit to its line up in the 63rd Philippine Airlines (PAL) Interclub Golf Tournament, which opens in less than ten days in Bacolod City.

Lawyer Jovi Neri, one of the regulars of the team and the very active junior golf committee chairman of CCC said that 15-year-old LJ Go and 14-year-old Gio Gandionco will be playing for the team this year.

They will be joining veterans Montito Garcia, Carl Almario, Eric Deen, Marko Sarmiento, Mark Dy and Neri.  Also in the team are not so veteran, but also reliable young players in Chuckie Hong and Bayani Garcia.

Cebu Country Club has been the top team in the Founders division of the tournament for the past several years.

The team’s classification for this year’s tournament shall be known during the team captain’s meeting, which is a day before the start of the tournament.

The teams taking part in the tournament are classified under Championship, Founders, Sportswriters and Friendship divisions depending on the average score of the players in previous editions of the PAL Interclub.

Alta Vista Golf and Country Club will be fielding Victor Gocela, Econg Solon, Edsel Tan, Alex Yeo, Dennis Canoy, Kim Kwang Seok, Gabriel Yap, Wendell Yap, Ed Acain and Emir Abutazil.

The team, which finished second in the Sportswriters Division in Bacolod the other year, was classified under the Founders class last year. Gocela or Captain Vic hopes that they would be classified back in the Sportswriters category this time.

Alta Vista will be missing the services of Gandionco, who was with the team the past two years, but his entry into the line up of Cebu Country Club has excited his former teammates as this will give the teenager a chance to match his skills against some of the best players of the country.

Mactan Island Golf Club will be led by skipper Jufil Sato. The team members are Andot Mondares, Andrew Cañete, Ronnie Sarigumba, Hubert Calan, Hiroyuki Hasegawa, Bart Vergara, Jose Mari Dizon, Sgt. Renato Aquino, and Jun-jun Cabajar.

Retired General Rodante Joya will lead the club’s seniors’ team that will also have Yoshio Yamane, Razy Razon, Felix Villanueva, Boy Alegre, Oscar Cornelio, Isao Suzuki and Vidal Hebi.

I met Boboy Durano of Club Filipino yesterday and he told me that they will also be fielding a team.

Lawyer Julius Neri, Sr., Jovi’s dad, who I had the honor to play with yesterday along with Vince Colina, said that he will be playing for the Mercedes Plantation Golf and Country Club team in Bacolod.

Mercedes, which is in Medellin, holds a special place in my heart as it was the first team that gave me a chance to join the regular tournament instead of just the sidelight media event. 

I think Vince, who played for Alta Vista last year, might also see action again this year with the club’s senior team.

The seniors’ class is for players 55 years old and above. Yes these guys are 55 years old, but I won’t tell you how much above 55 they are hehehe…

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MILESTONES: This is a busy weekend for birthdays. In fact, I have committed to attend one party. Happy birthday greetings go to Cael Bronce, husband of Lifestyle’s Quennie Sanchez-Bronce; columnist and fellow volleyball enthusiast Atty. Joseph T. Gonzales, and also to Archt. Phoebe Espinosa-Cale.

Tomorrow’s greetings go to opinion editor and my Tao sister Debbie Dixie Duraliza, twins Katherine and Khristine Dante, Odette del Prado-Torrefranca, and my cousin Mary Ann Quiñones-Unto.

More power to all of you!   .   (FREEMAN NEWS)