Zaragosa rips Arevalo, faces Manotoc next

MANILA, Philippines - Rupert Zaragosa went on a birdie-spree at the back to fashion a 5 and 4 victory over Kristopher Arevalo and arrange a semifinal showdown with Gabby Manotoc in the NGAPs Philippine Match Play championship presented by the MVP Sports Foundation at Cangolf’s South Course yesterday.

Zaragosa, 15, birdied four of the first five holes on their homeward trip, turning a shaky 1-up lead into a runaway triumph to lead the Final Four cast in the annual event serving as part of the PLDT Group Amateur Tour.

Manotoc advanced to the semis with a walkover win over Korean expat Jun Tea-yang.

Gen Nagai, playing out of Cebu Country Club, outsteadied veteran John Kier Abdon, 2-up, to seal a semis clash with JP de Claro, who came away with a 4 and 3 reversal over Andres Saldana in the event backed by Pancake House, Golf Depot and Pacsports.

“I have been hitting it well the past two weeks, the only difference today was that my putting clicked,” Zaragosa, a high school student at Don Bosco Canlubang, said. “It was a close match until the backnine.”

Zaragosa birdied No. 10 and then drained three straight from No. 12 to seal another semis matchup with Manotoc.

Manotoc and Zaragosa also figured in the semifinals of the 2011 Philippine Junior Match Play, with the latter prevailing in 19 holes.

In ladies play, top seed Daniella Uy also dominated her quarterfinal match, beating Sofia Chabon, 4 and 2, to advance opposite Mikhaela Fortuna, who won by default over Seo Yon-kwon.

The other half of the ladies’ semis will pit Bernice Ilas-Olivares, one of the new members of Team ICTSI, against Felicia Medalla, who figured in the longest match of the day against Harmie Constantino, winning after 19 holes.

Earlier, Olivares routed Samantha Martinez, 6 and 5.