Golf, boxing and Eagles tune-up in Vancouver

VANCOUVER – It’s been a busy week of sports and recreation in this bustling city of Vancouver in the west coast of Canada. First, was a golf game at the Meadow Gardens Golf course in Gardens Way, Pitt Meadows with the Perez couple, Fred and Susan, long time residents of Canada and now settled down as Canadian citizens with their own roofing business, and Junie Siytangco, a son of the late Sonny Siytangco and former assistant secretary Deedee.

Susan, an alumna of St. Theresa’s College in Manila, recently resigned from AXA Pacific Insurance and now helps Fred in the business even as both vow to “take things easy, play as much golf together and with friends.”

Although a relatively flat course, the 7,041-yard (black tee)/6,094-yard (white tee for seniors) offers a formidable challenge for one who has barely recovered from the long trans-Pacific flight to North America and who is not accustomed to the unusually fast greens. As the Meadow Greens management would say, “amid the serenity of Pitt Meadows, Les Furber has created one of the most beautiful and challenging golf courses in Canada. Few, if any, golf courses in the world offer such a complete range of facilities – from 18 of the finest golf holes anywhere to terrific continental cuisine.”

The 456-yard, handicap one, slightly dog leg to the left, hole number three immediately poses a problem. The safe drive is to the upper right side but one pays for such conservatism for the distance to the green is increased. With a more challenging blast to the left, the approach to the green is shorter, but one has to be wary of the wicked wave like grass bunkers. More grass bunkers can be a hazard on approach.

Although given a handicap four rating, the 538-yard 18th   is easily the most interesting and is considered the signature hole. The hole features three islands. The drive requires distance on the first of the three islands. The next demands pin-point accuracy to the second island. For a medium to low handicapper, it should be easy to use a mid to short iron and land on the green in three. For most, including me, a trip to the water between the three islands is not uncommon!

Next in our agenda is a chat at the lounge of the Executive Plaza/Inn (that sometimes features popular Filipina singer and breast cancer survivor, Joey Albert) with Rey Fortaleza of the Fortaleza brothers of amateur boxing. Rey, who reached the quarterfinals in the bantamweight division in the 1976 Montreal Olympics, now publishes, with the help of, among others, Alex Mino (formerly with Abante), as editor, and Carito Pablo, as editorial consultant, the bi-monthly Philippine Asian News Today (PNT) which has a circulation of 10,000.

Rey, who has been a Canadian citizen since 1990, lost a controversial points-decision to Patrick Cowden of the United Kingdom. Rey’s loss nearly sparked a walk out by the Asian representatives headed by then Philippine Olympic Committee president Nereo Andolong. Had Rey won against Cowden, he would have been assured of a bronze medal and met eventual gold medalist, Koo Yong Jo of North Korea to whom Rey lost by a 3-2 decision in the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran. Aside from his publishing chores and his contract to air ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol, Rey promotes the highly popular annual PAL-Interclub as team captain of the Pinoy Vancouver Golf club.

Rey is proud to point out that PNT was the only Canadian newspaper accredited by the Manny Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton promoters to cover the historic battle for the best pound-for-pound title on May 2.

Rey was bantamweight champion in the 1975 Asian Youth Championship and emphasizes that the great Flash Elorde was his coach. Rey’s other brothers are Rene who competed in the flyweight division in Munich in 1972 and Ric who also took part in Montreal in the bantamweight division. Rene would later become secretary general of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines under Mel Lopez and, later on, under Mel’s son, Manny. Rene died of cancer some years back.

Rogelio or Roger Fortaleza won, in 1979, the Philippines first ever gold medal in boxing in the Southeast Asian Games. Roger would later teach Physical Education at the De La Salle University. More on Rey Fortaleza’s views on boxing next week.

Capping our weekend was the game I watched between the Ateneo Blue Eagles and one of Vancouver’s top-rated college basketball squads, Simon Fraser University. The Blue Eagles lost, 77-85, but they certainly gave a good account of themselves and continue to be the favorite this coming UAAP season. More on this and our conversation with Ateneo coach Norman Black next week.