La Salle, Benilde, UST eye quarterfinals

Games on Tuesday (Filoil EcoOil Centre)

9 a.m. – La Salle vs University of Southern Philippines Foundation

12 p.m. – Lyceum vs Adamson

2 p.m. – La Salle-Dasma vs UST

4 p.m. – Enderun vs College of St. Benilde

FANCIED squads La Salle, College of St. Benilde, UST and Adamson seek to live up to expectations against separate counterparts to top their groups and clinch quarterfinal tickets in Day 3 of the 2023 Shakey’s Super League National Invitationals Tuesday at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.

Action kicks off a 9 a.m. with reigning UAAP champion La Salle (1-0) clashing against CESAFI runner-up University of Southern Philippines Foundation (0-1) in Pool A followed by the 12 p.m. duel between Adamson (1-0) and Lyceum (0-1) in Pool C.

At 2 p.m., UST collides (1-0) with La Salle-Dasma (0-1) in Pool B while two-time NCAA queen CSB tackles Enderun Colleges at 4 p.m. in Pool D to wrap up the short single-round robin elims among 12 teams from the NCR, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Only the top two teams from each pool will advance to the knockout playoffs of the SSL presented by Eurotel as official hotel and Victory Liner as office transport provider, and in cooperation with the Commission on Higher Education.

“Lahat ng teams dito sa Shakey’s, naghanda talaga so kailangan i-respeto namin lahat ng kalaban,” said Lady Spikers deputy mentor Noel Orcullo as La Salle emerges as team to beat in the nationwide tilt.

Only Notre Dame of Dadiangas University (0-2) so far from General Santos City in Pool D is out of contention, making the last playdate a waiting game for CESAFI champion University of San Jose Recoletos (1-1) in Pool B and Jose Maria College Founda tion (1-1) in Pool C to determine their fates.

While all eyes are on the big guns from the UAAP and the NCAA, unheralded squads like the USJR from Cebu and the JMCF from Davao have proven their worth so far in the historic joust also backed by Mikasa, Team Rebel Sports, Summit Bottled Water, Genius Sports, Potato Corner, Peri-Peri Charcoal Chicken and Sauce Bar, and R&B Tea.

USJR took down Luzon bet La Salle-Dasma, 25-20, 25-18, 25-18, while JMCF stunned NCAA runner-up Lyceum via reverse sweep, 24-26, 25-19, 25-22, 26-24, to stay in playoff contention.

Hodges wins 1st US PGA Tour title at 3M Open tilt

LOS ANGELES—Lee Hodges fired two eagles in a four-under-par 67 on Sunday to claim his first US PGA Tour title with a wire-to-wire, sevenstroke triumph in the 3M Open in Blaine, Minnesota.

Hodges finished with a 24-under par total of 260 at TPC Twin Cities, where he’d pushed his lead to as many as seven and seen it shrink to three over playing partner J.T. Poston before Poston’s disastrous triple-bogey at the final hole.

That left Poston, who carded a twounder 69, tied for second with Kevin Streelman and Scotland’s Martin Laird. Streelman carded a 66 while Laird produced a seven-under-par 64 that featured five birdies and a 20-foot eagle at 18.

None of them ever really looked like catching Hodges, who started the day with a five-shot lead.

He pushed that to seven after a birdie at the second and an eagle at the sixth, where his 255-yard approach with a three-wood left him an 11-foot putt.

After a bogey at the ninth he eagled the par-five 12th in spectacular style, again using a three-wood and landing his 257-yard second shot within three feet.

“Those were two of the greatest shots I ever hit,” said Hodges, who has secured his berth in the FedEx Cup playoffs as well as an invitation to next year’s Masters.

“Anytime you win, you really set yourself up for some special stuff,” he said. “My caddie was telling me on 18, I honestly didn’t even think about it, we get to play Augusta next year. That’s something else. That was probably the coolest thing I heard all day.” AFP