Young Sugar Barons seek sweep

BACOLOD CITY—A year wiser and more seasoned, a young Canlubang squad tries to replicate what its Senior team did in the PAL Interclub Championship when Regular Men’s action tees off Wednesday at demanding Marapara here.

“Definitely, we will go for it,” coach Boyet Zaragosa told the Inquirer on Tuesday afternoon while overseeing the final practice round of the Sugar Barons at the tree-lined layout. “It’s rare that you get a chance to sweep the Interclub.”

Cangolf’s 55-and-above players unseated highly favored Luisita on Sunday and the younger Sugar Barons will be gunning to complete another upset in the country’s unofficial team golf championship.

There won’t be a Luisita standing in the way of this one, but Manila Southwoods is as formidable.

“They are the overwhelming favorites, for sure,” Zaragosa said of Southwoods, which will be shooting to win this event for the fourth straight year and write Interclub history. “But we are comfortable playing as underdogs.

“We don’t mind it a bit,” said Zaragosa, whose son Rupert will spearhead the team.

“In fact, I think it takes a lot of the pressure off of the players.”

The Barons, the elder Zaragosa believes, have gotten a lot better ever since finishing second last year.

“We have a big chance, compared last year in Davao,” Zaragosa went on. “We just want to make it close in the first two rounds and take it from there. It’s going to be a tough task, but the boys will be up to it.”

Marapara will host the first and final days, but Zaragosa believes that the middle two rounds at Binitin will prove key —like what happened in the Senior Division where Cangolf opened up a seven-point lead in round three.

“We respect that course and we need to play very well there if we want to have a chance to win,” Zaragosa said.