Luisita unseats Canlubang as seniors champion

A closing roster that performed steadily all round pooled 145 points on Saturday as Luisita dethroned bitter rival Canlubang as PAL Senior Interclub champion in a great escape at up-and-down Alta Vista in Cebu.

Eddie Bagtas fired a four-over-par 76 worth 50 points and former Santo Tomas cager Edmund Yee returned 49, which proved to be the clinching card for the Luisitans, who got a lot of help from Sugar Baron Damasus Wong’s sputtering finish.

The Luisitans tallied a 72-hole 569 points to win by just three, as Cangolf outscored them in the final round with 148. But Wong dropped a total of six points in his final three holes as the Sugar Barons’ rally from six points down at the start of the day fell painfully short.

Rolly Viray churned out the best round by any Canlubang player the whole week, shooting 52 as the anchor, and Abe Rosal fired 49 with the Barons counting the 47 of Wong for 566 overall.

It was the 17th title for the Luisitans in the 55-and-above category, and it didn’t come easy, more so since they lost a total of 10 points on the disqualification of Benjie Sumulong in the second round and a two-point penalty slapped on Demy Saclot in the third.

Either 46 of Chino Raymundo or Rafael Garcia counted as the third score for Luisita, while Canlubang threw away the 42 of former national Senior champion Abe Avena.

While Wong finished bogey, pick-up and double-bogey in the final three holes, Yee went about them at one-under, coming up with a seven-point swing that Canlubang didn’t have a chance to overcome in the final two groups.

Before heading to the 16th tee, Wong was protecting a one-over effort and the team score tied.