Storm-hit PGTA Riviera Classic unfolds
THE PGT Asia Tour holds its third leg beginning today with the ICTSI Riviera Classic looming to be a survival of the fittest given the weather condition at the demanding Langer layout of the Riviera Golf and Country Club in Cavite.
The organizing Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. said the $100,000 championship is pushing through with the par-72 ravinelaced layout still playable despite the incessant rains spawned by Typhoon Maring.
“Despite the rain, the course is still playable and we’ll push through with the tournament as much as possible then we’ll decide tomorrow (today) if we need to cancel the first round. Then we’ll go on from there,” said Jack Imperial, tournament director of the event sponsored by ICTSI.
The many-time champion is actually one of a slew of local aces seeking to rebound from disastrous final day stints at Splendido where unheralded Rene Menor came out from nowhere to nail a first-ever championship in record fashion.
Rufino Bayron, who led by four in the third round, skied to an 80 and tumbled to joint 13th with Mars Pucay, who limped with a 76. Clyde Mondilla missed bogeyed the final hole for a 70 and settled for joint fourth.
As the big guns crumbled, Menor sneaked in from six down to force a three-man playoff with a 66 then disposed American John Michael O’Toole on the first sudden hole and outlasted Thai Pasavee Lertvilai on the sixth playoff hole to clinch the victory.
Meanwhile, Indonesian Ian Andrew and Seungjae Maeng of the US boost this week’s cast that also features those who vied at Splendido, all bracing for severe weather condition at one of the most toughest courses in the land.
Andrew slugged it out with Miguel Tabuena and Angelo Que in the PGT Asia Tour kickoff leg at Southwoods last month but faded in the closing holes and settled for third. He skipped last week’s event but looked poised to crowd the local aces for this week’s chase for the top $17,500 purse.
Meanwhile, the fourth stop of the region’s newest circuit, Custom Clubmakers, Meralco, Champion, Summit Mineral Water, K&G Golf Apparel, BDO, Sharp, KZG, PLDT and M.Y. Shokai Technology, Inc., will be held on Nov. 15-18 at Wack Wack while Luisita will host the next leg on Nov. 29-Dec. 2 for the CAT (Central Azucarera de Tarlac) Open. WHAT the country’s able athletes couldn’t do, their differently- abled counterparts will try to accomplish.
The Philippines’ differently abled athletes leave today with an eye of easing the pain of a 24-gold debacle in the Southeast Asian Games as they go for 27 gold medals or more in the 9th ASEAN Para Games slated on September 17 to 23 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Unified Tennis Philippines (UTP) will give top Filipino junior netters a chance to compete internationally with its new incentive program.
UTP founding member Jean Henri Lhuiller bared one of UTP’s plans in order to promote and improve the skills level of highranked junior tennis players in the country.
“This incentive program is part of UTP’s
Philippine chef de mission Ral Rosario, who left early on Tuesday to attend the delegation head meeting the same day, estimated the 164-member delegation could win a minimum of 27 gold medals, which will be three more than what the country snared in the SEAG just over a week back.
It will also be a mark improvement from the 16 golds the Filipinos win in the last Para Games edition in continuous campaign to support tennis in the Philippines and help Philippine-based tennis players get world-class training and experience so that we may achieve our ultimate goal of developing tennis players that would excel in worldwide rankings,” said Lhuiller in an interview.
At the end of the year, the top four boys FOUR struggling teams go for crucial wins to bolster their semifinal bid in their respective divisions with San Beda College taking on College of St. Benilde and Lyceum of the Philippines battling Jose Rizal University today in the Premier Volleyball League Collegiate Conference at The Arena in San Juan City. Among the four, the Red Spikers have one win to show in two games and should be all-fired up to join the Arellano Lady Chiefs at second against the Lady Blazers (0-1) in a Group B encounter at 4 p.m.
The Lady Pirates and the Lady Bombers, on the other hand, clash in a duel of winless Group A teams at 6:30 p.m. with the former hoping to bounce back from a shutout loss to the National University Lady Bulldogs last week. Singapore two years ago.
“The team is in high spirits, and if our estimation is correct, we have a strong chance of winning 27 golds, perhaps more,” said Rosario.
Nikko Huelgas and Claire Adorna, who claimed a gold and a silver in SEAG triathlon, attended the send- off to give the athletes inspirational messages.
The Filipino woodpushers are expected to and top four girls of the under 14, under 16, and under 18 categories will be selected to represent the Philippines in various international tournaments.
Under 14 national teams will get to play at least one Asian Tennis Federation Junior tournament in Southeast Asia while the U16 and U18 national team members
But with two losses, JRU is in a must win situation in a short single round elims where the top two from each side of six teams will advance to the crossover semifinals of the season- ending conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.
San Beda trampled Technological Institute of the Philippines in four last Sept. 3 but absorbed a 0-3 setback to Arellano to fall to joint third with idle University of the Philippines.
The Lady Blazers also got swept by the Lady Chiefs but the former NCAA champions are raring to rebound behind Klarissa Abriam, Ranya Musa, Rachel Austero, and Marites Pablo, libero Christine Lim and setter Pauline Cardiente against SBC’s Aurea Racraquin, sisters Nieza and Jiezela Viray and Satrriani Espiritu.
Meanwhile, action in the men’s side of the league backed by Mikasa and Asics heats up with unbeaten Ateneo gunning for win No. 4 against winless St. Benilde at 8 a.m.
Far Eastern U and UST, toting identical 2-1 slates, tangle at 10 a.m. spearhead the country’s campaign as they seek for nothing less than seven golds,one more than their six-gold haul in Singapore two years ago.
Chesser Minandro Ridor will be country’s flag-bearer after a four-gold harvest in the visually impaired 2 division, which is for partially blind participants.
Wheelchair- bound FIDE Master Sander Severino and Henry Lopez are also part of the team with hopes of will be sent to at least one International Tennis Federation group-5 junior tournament in the region.
“We see a lot of potentials in our tennis players and we hope that through this initiative, they will have renewed motivation and inspiration to do better and improve their skills even more,” Lhuiller added. sweeping the individual and team events of standard and rapid.
Paralympics veteran Adeline Dumapong- Ancheta of powerlifting and Josephine Medina of table tennis are also expected to strike gold.
Dumapong-Ancheta made history by becoming the country’s first medal winner in the Paralympics after she claimed a bronze in the 2000 Sydney Games while Medina bagged a bronze in Rio de Janerio, Brazil last year.
Meanwhile, the top eight players ranked in the UTP for 16 under and 14 under girls division will have a chance to join the round-robin qualifying tournament of the Women’s Tennis Association Future Stars which is slated from September 22 to 24 at Valle Verde Country Club in Pasig.
Winners of the event will represent the country at the WTA Future Stars main event in Singapore before the year ends.