Manotoc joins local standouts in q’finals

ZARAGOSA: Favored againstArevalo. INQUIRER PHOTO

CANLUBANG, Laguna—Top Filipino seed Rupert Zaragosa, Kristopher Arevalo and Andres Saldaña advanced without swinging their clubs yesterday even as Gabriel Manotoc posted the first upset in the NGAP’s Philippine Match Play championship presented by the MVP Sports Foundation at Cangolf’s South course here.

The 16-year-old Manotoc, the 10th seed, turned the tables on Korean expatriate Kim Soong-wung, 3 and 2, to reach the quarterfinals against Jun Tea-yang, the second-seeded Korean who ousted Marco Olives, 2-up.

Zaragosa, seeded third, and Arevalo arranged a duel after Park Min-cheol, the 14th seed, and Norman dela Peña, withdrew because of injuries.

Arevalo is the reigning world 15-16 champion, but he is expected to have his hands full against the pint-sized Zaragosa, who knows the tree-lined layout like the back of his hands.

Saldana, the lefty from Alabang, advanced without breaking a sweat as top-ranked Park Min-ung of South Korea also failed to answer his tee time because of the flu.

Fourth-ranked Gen Nagai and John Kier Abdon will collide in the other quarterfinal duel. Nagai, standout of PAL Interclub champion Cebu Country Club, ousted Basti Lorenzo, 2-up, while Kier, the champion in 2011, eliminated Wei-Wei Gao, 2 and 1.

Meanwhile, the ladies side of the event making up a leg of the PLDT Amateur Tour and backed by Pancake House, Golf Depot and Pacsports starts tomorrow with No. 1 Daniella Uy battling Sophia Chabon and No. 2 Mikhaela Fortuna taking on Seo Yon-kwun of Korea.

The tournament takes a break today in observance of the end of the Ramadan. Musong R. Castillo