Eastridge seals Interclub triumph

Eastridge golfers are all smiles after nailing the Interclub crown. —PAL INTERCLUB PHOTO

BACOLOD—Leaving no doubt that it has come of age, Eastridge-Primehomes on Friday capped off a week of brilliant, dominant play with a closing round that left the lean Philippine Airlines (PAL) Interclub Men’s Championship field in its wake and toasting new kings.

With Ronel Taga-an shooting a three-under-par 67 worth 39 points at demanding, tree-lined Marapara here, and Jeff Lumbo chipping in with 35, Eastridge tallied a closing 106 to complete a wire-to-wire, 21-point win that knocked Manila Southwoods off of its lofty perch.

“This is very sweet,” captain Gimo Asuncion said as celebration erupted on the 18th green. “This is the culmination of a long journey where we had heartaches and learned from those.

“This is definitely a very special moment for this team.”

Counting the 32 of Edison Tabalin, Eastridge tallied 415 points as Southwoods managed only 99 to lose more ground after starting the day trying to overhaul what was a 14-point deficit.

“They played well and deserve this,” Southwoods skipper Thirdy Escaño said after their valiant effort that fell short. “We will go back to the drawing board because we have a lot of players who are going to college [in the United States].

“But we will definitely be back,” he said after Perry Bucay’s 35 led the squad and Zeus Sara and Santino Laurel contributed 32 each as Southwoods finished 19 points ahead of third-placed Tagaytay Highlands-Team IMG.

Lumbo turning pro

Terrence Macatangay fired 35 points and Masaichi Otake chipped in with 34 that made up the bulk of Tagaytay’s closing 95. Justin Tambunting’s 26 gave the squad a 375 tally.

“We are very happy with the way the young players performed,” Gary Sales, the ex-pro turned businessman who had a big hand in putting this team together, told the Inquirer in Filipino. “We spent the early years learning what it takes to win.

“With this, all of our efforts have paid off,” he went on. “I cannot ask for anything more from this courageous group of players. They really played their hearts out.”

Eastridge will lose Lumbo to the professional ranks sometime next month, but Asuncion and Sales bared that they have backup players in their program who will be ready and able to take Lumbo’s spot.

“We will start preparing for [our title defense] once we get to celebrate this,” Asuncion said.