Azkals, a 'birdie' and the Sports Hall of Fame

I join the nation in rejoicing because of the victory of the Azkals over Mongolia last Wednesday night, but the 2-0 win is not exactly a comfortable margin going into the second leg of the match next month.

Mongolia is hosting the game and the Azkals must not allow them to win by more than three goals in order to advance to the group stage.

While the win was a big one, I could not also hide my disappointment at the way I saw how the Azkals played. Maybe I am wrong, but then it seems that many members of the team wanted so desperately to be the game’s hero that they forgot to play as a unit rather than a bunch of individuals.

I remain hopeful that the Azkals will really go through against Mongolia and more than that, I also hope that the team members would continue to have their feet on the ground.  Go Azkals!

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Lino Dagus scored a very rare birdie last Saturday on the par-5 hole number 9 of Alta Vista Golf and Country Club. The hole looks treacherous, but not that hard to hole out in four, but Lino’s birdie was one of a rarer kind. 

In fact, this is only the third time in my close of 22 years as a journalist that I am writing about such.

My compadre Koko Holganza, who was the one who informed me of the feat shortly before they teed off on the 13th and before my flight also putted on the 17th, said that Lino used a driver to hit the birdie.

Then Koko pulled out the evidence, a dead bird.

Had Lino hit an eagle, he would have been in trouble with the law as that is an endangered species.

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Two individuals and one team will be enshrined into the Cebu Sports Hall of Fame this Wednesday morning at the social hall of the City Hall.

They are Maria Belen del Villar Rusiana, Federico Ybañez, and the M.Lhuillier-Cebu football team of 1988.

Rusiana, who played for the University of San Carlos, was a member of the Philippine volleyball team that won the gold medal in the 1979 Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. Among her teammates were Cebuanas Marilou and Marichu Jao and Jojie Maranga.

Ybañez, a table tennis player who hails from Pasil, was a member of the Philippine team to the 1966 Bangkok Asian Games. He has also been recognized as the top table tennis player of the country for the decade of 1961 to 1970.

The M.Lhuillier team won the national championships in 1988, which has not been matched to date by any Cebu team.

The team was owned by Michel Lhuillier and coached by Graeme MacKinnon, both special honorees of the Cebu Sports Hall of Fame.

The team members were skipper Mario Ceniza, goalkeeper and tournament MVP Gemini Sitoy, Dante Orejudos, James Paradillo, Albert Regencia, Edwin Arganza, Rene Inoc, Wilfredo Juezan, James Janea, Randy Estremos, Felix Navarro, Genard Aller, Eddie Catarinen, Mohammad 'Mike' Ahmad, Archt. Peter Bordador, Alan Arcabal, Rene Maambong, and the late Roberto Eco.

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MILESTONES: Birthday greetings go to Valerie Macapagal, Ferdinand Enriquez, Cesar Fernandez, and Brett Aleonar, who are all turning a year older today.

Advance greetings go to Perla ‘Angging’ Ortiz, Mickey Palao, and Kara Mae Noveda, who are all turning a year older tomorrow.

Best wishes to Robert Illustrisimo and Tresa Cantutay, who are tying the knot this afternoon at the Shrine of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Minglanilla.

More power to all of you!