Beermen, Hotshots recover; Tabuena slows down
LOOKS like there won’t be an early disappearing act for San Miguel Beer in the Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup this time.
A big disappointment in their opening game against Mahindra last week, the Beermen bounced back with might and main in a 120-109 victory over Philippine Cup surprise semifinalist GlobalPort.
The Beermen flashed tremendous outside shooting with import Tyler Wilkerson firing a tournament-high 52 points despite fouling out with barely two minutes left. He finished with seven of 26 triples by the Beermen, who started in this tournament 0-4 after winning the Philippine Cup last year.
Beerman Marcio Lassiter wound up with eight three-pointers to finish with 28, a point ahead of import Calvin Warner, who paced Batang Pier.
A day before SMB finally launched its bid for the Grand Slam it missed last year, Star and Alaska, the Philippine Cup losing finalist, also barged into the win column.
The Hotshots ended their three-game losing streak with a 122-103 rout of Blackwater while the Aces improved to 1-1 like the Beermen by downing the defending champion Tropang TNT, 108-100. Alaska made it two-in-a row by crushing Rain or Shine, 128-102, even as TNT repulsed Phoenix, 108-96.
* * *
Playing five tournaments in six weeks apparently took its toll on new Filipino golf star Miguel Tabuena.
He finally missed the 36-hole cut in the ISPS Handa Perth International in Australia last Friday with rounds of 72-75 after a blazing run in his first three events in the Asian Tour where he placed two times in the top five and advanced to second overall in the Asian Order of Merit with earnings of $310,658.
The 22-year-old Tabuena went to Perth after tying for second in Malaysia the week before. Before Malaysia, the reigning Philippine Open champion ruled the opening leg of the ICTSI Tour at Anvaya Cove in Bataan.
Next up for Tabuena is the $1.7 M True Thailand Classic 2016 set March 10 to 13 at Black Mountain Golf Club in Hua Hin. Also entered are Juvic Pagunsan, Angelo Que and Tony Lascuña.
* * *
It was a pity host Mimosa Golf and Country Club failed to get credit for an outstanding start in the Seniors division of the current PAL Interclub.
The Mimosa bets, campaigning in the lower Founders class, surprised everyone by amassing a team total of 149 that surpassed the 146 output of Championship pacesetter Luisita.
But the unusually slow scorekeeping prevented the media from highlighting Mimosa’s feat in their report for the first round. They knew Mimosa had the lead in the Founders class but it was way past their deadlines when they realized the implication of the score that was submitted very late.
When Mimosa clung to the overall lead after two rounds, general manager Eric Gozo visited the Press Center and requested the media men to give Mimosa the credit that it deserves.
The stint with fame proved brief, however, when defending champion Canlubang asserted itself in the third round and went on to clinch a second straight crown.
Still, Mimosa showed its real worth by finishing with the tournament’s third best output of 567, just three points off Championship runner-up Luisita. The host club wound up as Founders champion by 13 over Cebu Country Club.
No team from the lower division has ever emerged overall champion in the Seniors. But this achievement has been achieved once in the Regular tournament, which incidentally is set this week also at Mimosa, with Aguinaldo ruling the Championship category from the Founders class in 1988.
