Team North pads lead to five, looks to Shin and Lisa for mop-up job

Reigning national champions Shin Suzuki and Lisa Sarines will come out in different segments of the deciding Singles matches on Thursday as they try to put the finishing touches to Team North’s defense of its ICTSI Junior PGT Elite Championship against the South squad in Cagayan de Oro.

After scraping past their foes in the Foursomes on Wednesday with a 7-5 victory, the Northerners have strategically placed Suzuki in the middle of the 24-match schedule against Roman Tiongko. Sarines will come out last against Lois Go for the potential tie-clinching point.

“Yes, that’s what our captain wants,” the 6-foot-3 Suzuki told the Inquirer when asked if stability is what skipper Joey Anciano is shooting for as the North tries to protect a 14 1/2-9 1/2 lead carved out with the Northerners salvaging splits in the centerpiece 15-18 division matches at Pueblo de Oro.

The Jakob Taruc-Nathan Belandres pair came back from three-down to force the Clement Ordeneza-Sebastian Sajuela tandem to a draw, before Mona Sarines and Kendra Garingalao halved their match against Tashanah Balanguan and Precious Zaragosa for the day’s final count.

“We have a five-point lead going into the Singles, and obviously, we want to maintain that,” said Suzuki, the best boys’ player in the field who can pull that off, having won the National Match Play title just two weeks ago.

“We want to give ourselves some breathing room [in the middle of the session],” the 18-year-old who is in his final year of age-group eligibility, added. “Anyone can win [in these types of matches].”

The winner of the PH Strokeplay Championship late last month, the 14-year-old Sarines, meanwhile, will be anchoring the North in what could be an explosive match-up against Go, the talent from Cebu.

Suzuki’s partnership with Santi Asuncion remained unbeaten after a 4&3 romp over Alexis Nailga and Roman Tiongko on Wednesday, even as Sarines will be licking the wounds of a first loss this week after her team-up with Rafa Anciano stumbled to a 5&3 loss to Apple Gotiong and Go.

“There’s pressure, considering the fact that I am not playing for myself,” Lisa Sarines said in a separate interview. “But I think that’s a normal thing to feel for an athlete.

“This will be my first time playing Lois [in singles],” Sarines added. “So I am excited to see how our match unfolds.”