PAL Seniors

I’m still in Cebu, but my mind is several hundreds of kilometers south as the Philippine Airlines Seniors Interclub tees off today in two venues.

I will be heading south this weekend yet to catch the final round of the seniors’ event and then cover the men’s regular tournament next week.

While getting ready to write this piece, I received a call from the team captain of the Alta Vista Golf and Country Club seniors’ team, Antonio ‘Loloy’ Sabuga.

Loloy, who also led last year’s team to a fourth place finish in the premiere championship division, was hoping that they would be grouped in the Founders category this year.

This did not happen as based on the rankings of the teams using the PAL Points Average (PPA) of the team members, Alta Vista is ranked 4th overall, so they stay with the Championship division.

They are playing at the Apo Golf and Country Club today with Masahisa Kawakami, Akira Hatano, and Razy razon joining Sabuga. The seniors’ class is for players aged 55 years old and above.

The other host club of the tournament is Rancho Palos Verdes Golf and Country Club.

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I also got conformation from Clifford Celdran that Cebu Country Club is also in the premiere category.

Mactan Island Golf Club also has a team in the tournament and the fourth Cebu-based squad is Mercedes Plantation Golf and Country Club of Medellin, which was confirmed to me last weekend by Ed Misa, their club president.

Ed has been inviting me to visit their course for the past few years, which I still never had a chance to do so.

I did get to play in the men’s tournament of the PAL Interclub (I have 13 more years to go before I qualify as a senior) in 2000 and 2001 as part of the Mercedes Plantation team.

Now, I only play in the media tournament, where I feel more at home and my score doesn’t look that bad compared to the rest of the field hehehe…

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It makes me happy and proud to learn that the grassroots program of Cebu City has been recognized by the Philippine Sports Commission and they want other local officials to know more about what we are doing here.

Chairman Edward Hayco of the Cebu City Sports Commission is off to Manila late next week to make the presentation.

The secret of Cebu City’s success is not having a huge sports budget nor is it some people pouring millions to support sports. The secret is having many dedicated people, who are very willing to go out of their way to teach others.

The teachers are not only those who have been athletes or coaches for many years, we also have many young athletes, who are helping out.

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MILESTONES: Happy birthday greetings go to Maricel Asuncion-Wong, Joselyn Deligero-Flores, Joyce Abaño, Glena Lim, Cybill Gayatin, and triathlete Noy Jopson, who are all turning a year older today.

Advance greetings to tomorrow’s birthday celebrators especially my mistah and original bunkmate Cdr. Dennis Quines of the Navy, Atty. Oliver Delfin, Raudebette Lleva-Tero, and Annaliza Suribas-Piezas.

More power to all of you! - THE FREEMAN