LUCKY SQUAD Apo Orogold finishes 3rd in PAL Men’s Interclub

BY CHITO MALABANAN

Barely making it to the regular tournament after waiting for a month in the waiting list, Apo Golf team B or Apo Golf Oro gold team made the most of the chance given to them by copping third place in the Friendship Division and the distinction of being the only Davao City team to finish at the podium during the 74th PAL Interclub golf tournament in Cebu.

Alta Vista team is already the runaway winner in the division but the battle for the second and third place was hotly contested and was decided only on the final hole at the 18th green of Club Filipino. Apo team B’s final day surge of 73 points for final total of 298 was not enough to overhaul the 5 point overnight lead established by the Liloan Golf team whose final day output of 69 was good enough to cop 2nd place for their final tally of 299 points.

“Bakbakan talaga until the last hole,” said Team captain mark Oropeza whose 22 points and Paul Garcia’s 23 carried most of the load on the final day. The other members who slugged it out on the final day were Cocoy Junsay (17), Andy Ugdoracion (11) and Mayo Pillerin whose 9 points did not count.

Apo Golf team B stayed on the radar most of the time during the tournament, holding on to the second position for the first two days, had a collapse on the third day and bounced back on the final day in Club Filipino to take the third place honors.

The other member of the team are top scorer Larry Baluso (27,28), Reggie Capa, Verne dela Cruz, Carlo Senase and Stephen Alegre.

The rest of the Davao City teams and their standings after the final day are as follows: Apo Golf team A 11th place (Founders), Rancho Palos Verdes 6th place (Aviators); Davao City Golf 4th Place, South Pacific Golf 8th Place and Lanang Golf 15th Place (Sportswriters Division).

The 75-year-old Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) will hold its San Miguel Corporation-PSA Annual Awards Night on March 6 at the Diamond Hotel.

The Diamond Hotel is manong Ferdie “Batman’ Lintuan’s fave hotel every time Davao sportswriters travel to Manila for a sports coverage. By the way, manong Ferdie was the first president of the Davao Sportswriters Association (DSA) established in 1994 and affiliated with the PSA, then headed by Inquirer sports editor Manolo “Doc” Inigo. Manong Gus Villanueva represented Mr. Inigo to the first DSA Induction of Officers that year at the Insular Hotel Davao.

So, this coming Monday, the organization will honor former editors Recah Trinidad, Ding Marcelo, Jun Engracia, Al S. Mendoza, Eddie Alinea and Percy Della with Lifetime Award in Sports Journalism.

Special awards will also be given to the late sports editors Joe S. Antonio, my former boss at the People’s Journal, and Ernie Gonzales.

Going through the list of awardees brings back great memories.

For many years, we have followed their work by reading their columns and sports stories published by the national papers. And thanks to the Philippine Airlines (PAL) for holding the Interclub Golf Tournaments, we had the chance to meet some of them.

Sir Joe Antonio, when I visited the Journal Group of Publications office years ago with my papang Marcial, mamang Loleng and aunties Tess and Grace, showered me with Journal t-shirts, hahaha, and was apologetic with space constraints because the PJ was a tabloid-size national paper, unlike its sister publication which is a broad- sheet.

Mr. Al S. Mendoza, on the other hand, has been the most amiable among the sports editors to sportswriters from the community papers, no offense meant to other sports editors in Manila. I could not forget him because he received a memo when he was still sports editor of the Inquirer for not following the dress code at the PDI HQ, hahahaha. And as a young sportswriter then, he offered Stolichnaya to me and realizing that I could not handle it, he ordered the waiter to bring San Miguel Beer while we continued the drinking session, hahahaha. Great memories, migo Chito Malabanan, right?

The other sports editors, being our sports fraternity elders, we respectfully greet and chat with them during the PAL Interclub golf coverages.

It is good to know that they will be honored this year and they all deserve it as sports chroniclers in this country. To be a sportswriter is not just a job, my friends. If you don’t love it, it is going to drive you crazy. You see my friends, sportswriting is the preservation of sports history that will serve as the basis for making wise decisions in sports management and sports development by our future generation of sports leaders and writers.

That is why I always encourage our sports community members to keep in touch with the sports media and not be afraid to get close with them because you have nothing to hide from them anyway. It becomes an easy job for sports editors and writers if information is readily provided to them. And that is what the PSA and DSA as organizations are doing by holding the weekly Forum as a public service program.

Should sportswriters unearth some controversial stuff in the sports community, it is easy to clear things out because you have a direct line of communication to them. And through their news outlets, the public will know the truth. And that is the beauty of democracy in the country, no matter how crazy the sports community can be, sometimes.

Kudos to PSA president Rey Lachica of Tempo/Bulletin and to the rest of the officers for continually working in honoring our sports idols in the country.

Congratulations to the awardees!

* * *

For comments, email mpb_ sports@yahoo.com.