Greenies make impression in Samsung golf

La Salle Greenhills upstaged the teams in college play with a tournament-best effort for 36 holes even as Ateneo and Sto. Niño Learning Center appeared poised for big victories in the other divisions after the penultimate round of the Samsung Interscholastics Golf Championships at the Villamor Golf Club.

Kevin Lachica, Magnum Bakunawa and Miko Yee conspired for 82 points to usher the high school team LSGH to an eight-point margin over sister squad La Salle-Zobel with a 173 aggregate that was the best total so far among the 18 squads entered in all three levels.

While Ateneo continued to dominate both men’s and ladies categories of the college battle, the Asistio brothers, Antonio, Gabriel and Anelo, carrying the colors of Sto. Niño are out to deny them a third title in this revival of an event sponsored by Samsung.

The other sponsors are Hotshots Flame-Grilled Burgers, Gatorade, Fila, Custom Clubmakers and Greg Norman Shirts by Planet Sports.

Sto. Niño rebounded from a slow start to post 74 points behind the 29 of Antonio Asistio to pull away by 19 points over the Gabriel Villareal-led Ateneo squad. Sto. Niño totaled 134 while Ateneo which led in the first round was at 115.

Vendrick Tan scored a three-over round for 33 points and John Gobing added a 30 and Juan Carlos Reyes a 25 for Ateneo 88 for the day that gave them a 170 total and a huge 14-stroke lead over La Salle which got 29 from Sammy Sy.

The elementary division players took a day off and were to play the final round yesterday with the Poveda C team of Nicole Serapio, Charlene Marie Abalos and Isabella Marie Pineda trying to protect a six-point lead in the team event and Crystal Superal and Dottie Ardina disputing the individual title.

Brixton Aw of St. Benilde and Tan were tied for the college individual lead with similar 62s; Nonoy Negrido of MCA-Montessori paced Justin Tambunting by five with his 66 in boys high school while John Kier Abdon of St. Benedict-Alabang was up by seven over Holen Juan Superal of Pilar Village with his 86 in the 11 and under class.

In the distaff side, Kim Hong of DLSU was a runaway leader in the college division while Christina Potenciano of Poveda was on top in the elementary play.