PSC HEAD RAMIREZ: I’LL CROSS MY FINGER
WITHOUT President Duterte’s signature on the General Appropriations Act for 2019, preparations for the 30th Southeast Asian Games the country is hosting could hardly move forward—or not at all.
And all the sports community could do is wait, at least in May, when President Durterte signs the act. “I’ll just cross my finger. It’s beyond our control as to the directions of Congress and the President. We will just wait,” Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William Ramirez said on Tuesday.
The national budget for 2019 is pegged at P3.7 trillion and a drop, P5 billion, has been allocated for the SEA Games hosting. The proposed budget for the November 30 to December 11 Games was P7.5 billion, but the Senate slashed it by a third. “As I know my President, if he says he will sign it in May—after the midterm elections—he will—it’s a statement of contradiction for the Congress to make it fast,” Ramirez said.
“If it will not come, so be it,” he sighed. The Korean Embassy, meanwhile, has partnered with the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) for the staging of the first Korea-Philippines Sports Festival.
The partnership was sealed between Ramirez and Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Han Dong-Man, United Korean Community Association in the Philippines President Byun Jae Heung and Korean Sports Association of the Philippines head Youn Man Heong. “We at the PSC are grateful to partner with the Korean Embassy in this celebration, mainly because of the rich history both the Philippines and Korea have shared for a long time,” Ramirez said.
“The Korean Institute of Sports Science has been persistent in helping national team coaches and practitioners in lectures of sports science, sports psychology and sports policy,” he added.
With the theme “March Together,” the embassy will launch the Korea-Philippines Sports Festival on June 8, featuring 12 sports with soccer and baseball set to be played at PhilSports Complex in Pasig.
“Sports is a vital component to connect people together, that is why we are inviting Filipino locals, especially the families of Korean War veterans to join the games with us,” Han said.
Luisita, the seniors champion just days before the Men’s Regular had teed off, had been ballyhooed to give Southwoods a tough challenge, with Del Monte as dark horse. Tagaytay Highlands, the fourth team in the premier Championship division, was but a decoration.
And since Cebu CC was in the second-division Founders, it had virtually only two chances of winning: nil and none.
Thus, when the Cebuanos came from nowhere to capture the crown in record fashion yet—only Aguinaldo in 1988 did a non-championship team win the overall title—an explosive celebration gripped the Queen City of the South a la the El Niño feast. I raise a glass to the champions—skipper Marko Sarmiento, Bayani Garcia, Pio Neri, Mark Dy, Harvey Sytiongsa, Mark Gonzalez, Nino Mendoza, JJ Alvarez, Eric Deen, Hugo Saurat and team manager Peter Po.
It was a team effort, of course, even as unabashed praise was heaped on Garcia and Neri (even-par 36 points each in the crucial Round 4), Dy (35), Sarmiento (33) and Sytiongsa (an
equally stunning no-count 32) for their finalday heroism leading to their impressive ninepoint, final winning margin over Southwoods.
The following is how a Cebu CC fixture analyzed the hosts’ historic win:
■ Day 1—Happy to be the Founders leader and also just being one down behind Southwoods in the championship division.
■ Day 2—Happy to have played well in Mactan to increase Cebu’s Founders lead but feeling stung when Southwoods seemed to dismiss the Cebuanos’ sudden rise to the top as a fluke.
■ Day 3—Cebu CC started believing it can actually win the overall crown after playing beyond expectations in Mactan again by keeping its four-point lead so that, heading back to our home course, the immediate battle cry was “Not in our house” in a bid to stop Southwoods’ record five-peat in the PAL Interclub.
■ Day 4—Euphoria and relief and immense joy that all our Round 4 players delivered on the last day. Happy to have made
history and looking forward to the next PAL Interclub in 2020. Proudest and happiest was Jay Jay Neri, Pio’s father. “His [Pio’s] Ateneo de Manila stint as a varsity golf player had paid off,” said Jay Jay. “His final-day 36 points was his first even-par round in six months.”
You savor Pio’s joy, Jay Jay—anytime, all the time.
THAT’S IT
After the successful staging of the 72nd PAL Interclub Golf in Cebu last Saturday, the Philippine Airlines, through PAL President Jaime J. Bautista, announced the extension of its anniversary seat sale by a week and another million seats up for grabs up to March 17. The move was on top of the previous 2 million seats that were quickly gobbled up by PAL’s loyal flock. “The record offer signals the determination of the fourstar rated flag carrier to woo more first-time travelers, as well as seasoned flyers, to ‘fly the flag’ and enjoy PAL’s full-service travel experience,” said Bautista. Cheers!