CAGAYAN DE ORO. – Del Monte scored its week-worst 141 points to close out Seniors Championship division play in the 75th Philippine Airlines (PAL) Interclub Sunday but this still proved more than enough for the Bukidnon-based bets to crown themselves winners for the first time.
“This is very sweet for us,” skipper Yoyong Velez, who fired a five-over-par 77 for 49 points like Ondoy Mondilla, said after the team savored the honor of posing as the winner for the first time. “The guys simply delivered and I am very proud of this homegrown team finally becoming a champion.”
Del Monte tallied 601 points after four days of action, with Roroy Minoza shooting 43 points and the club throwing away the 42 of Jun Maghamil for a 17-point win.
“We take pride in winning this event for the first time,” Velez added. “Simply because we have been playing year in and year out using only players that come from Del Monte. We don’t recruit players from the outside.”
The final round was anti-climactic with Del Monte practically winning it last Saturday after opening up an 18-point lead.
The real battle Sunday was for the second spot, which Canlubang and Manila Southwoods hotly disputed.
The Sugar Barons rallied from a one-point deficit going into the last two holes to tally a closing 142 like Southwoods for runner-up honors for the second straight year. Cangolf lost a lead in the final round in Cebu last year to yield the title to Luisita.
By being able to match Southwoods in the last round, Cangolf held on to a three-point edge for second place after getting 50 points from Damasus Wong, 48 points from the veteran Abe Rosal and 44 from Abe Avena for 584 overall.
Manfred Guangko scored 51 points for the Carmona-based bets, which still came up with their best finish in this division for players aged 55 and above.
Southwoods also counted the 46 points of Joseph Tambunting and the 45 of Theody Pascual even as Luisita slipped to its worst finish in years after tallying a closing 135 to wind up fourth.
The Luisitans got 52 points from Ferdie Barbosa and 44 from Dan Cruz, with the injured Marty Ilagan counting as the third scorer after a 39 as Rafael Raymundo dipped to a low 37.
Velez said the job for Del Monte now is to look at repeating next year wherever the Interclub would be held, adding that despite winning it all this year, no one is assured of a spot.
“We will all go through qualifying,” he said. “I think that was the secret of our success here.”
The 75th staging of the PAL Interclub is supported by diamond sponsors Mastercard and Asian Journal.
Platinum sponsors include Airbus, Primax Broadcasting Network and Araw Hospitality while gold sponsors are Tanduay and Asia Brewery.
