Sugar Barons cruise to 8-point romp

PAL seniors Interclub

BACOLOD, Philippines — Former champion Canlubang fed on the memory of devastating and controversial losses with a decisive win it virtually forged a day earlier and later offered to a fallen comrade.

Abe Rosal fired 50 points while Zaldy Villa backed him up with 46 and either Rolly Viray or Damasus Wong counted with a 44 as the Sugar Barons, who regained control in the third round, closed out with a 140 for a 573 overall, beating the Luisitans by eight points.

Rosal was even par through 16 holes before picking up on the next and settling for bogey on the last off the greenside bunkers.

Seven points behind before the start of the final round, Luisita failed to mount a rally and virtually conceded the championship as early as the 12th hole.

As the players walked to the No. 13 mound, Luisita skipper Jeric Hechanova walked over to counterpart Luigi Yulo to offer his hand in congratulation.

The Sugar Barons offered the victory to Miguel Preysler, a former national player based in Spain who had vowed to return after a forgettable stint last year. He never did as he succumbed to stomach cancer.

“This is for Mike,” said Yulo. “We didn’t know about his condition, but it was uncharacteristic of him to play badly.”

Yulo referred to the 37 points Presyler made in the first round at Mt. Apo in last year’s edition of the annual event.

Meanwhile, Hechanova credited Cangolf’s young players for the latter’s victory.

“Their young players are the ones who came through,” said Hechanova, referring to Abe and Pem Rosal, Wong and Villa. “We will rise from this defeat and try to win it back next year.”

Eddie Bagtas, who fired 52 points at Binitin in the second round, struggled with 44 points with Benjie Sumulong emerging as Luisita’s top scorer with 50 followed by Rodel Mangulabnan with 45 for a 139-565 total.

Del Monte outscored both Canlubang and Luisita in the final round with 148 points, but could only finish third with 549.

Yoyong Velez shot the day’s best score of 52 to win the individual crown. Del Monte also collected a pair of 48s from Raul Minoza and Arnido Callo.

Since winning its first crown in 2006, Canlubang has lost only twice, underscoring its pool of talents and experienced coaching staff.

“We thought that Luisita made a poor decision sitting out Bagtas in the third round,” said Yulo. “He should have played at Binitin.”

The Interclub’s Platinum sponsors this year are Primax Broadcasting, RMN and Fox, while major sponsors are BusinessWorld Publishing, Rolls Royce, TV5, Philippine Standard with Boeing, Under Armour, Eton Properties and Asia Brewery as the other backers.