Rafella uses backdoor to make Elite tournament
Rafella Batican pulled out what she needed to at tricky Binitin, in the ICTSI Bacolod Junior PGT Championship on a humid Friday, and the Bukidnon native will be packing her bags for Laguna after making it to the Elite Finals via the backdoor.
“I’m just so excited,” the 11-year-old said after closing out with a seven-over-par 77 to win by 13 shots over Andrea Borromeo and claim the 15 valuable points she needed to tie for the last spot in the four-strong 11-14 field by winning via a countback over the absent Isabella Espina.
“There was so much pressure to win,” she went on as she joined Brittany Tamayo, Kimberly Baroquillo and Zuri Bagaloyos in the championship set for Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 at The Country Club. “I am just so happy to win again.”
South squads for both the boys’ and girls’ 7-10, 11-14 and 15-18 divisions were completed Friday with Rafella’s older brother, Ralph, bannering the boys’ 11-14 after completing a 32-stroke win over Miguel Mesina.
Ralph, who opened with an impressive 62 on Thursday, closed out with a level 70, while Mesina shot an 80.
Meanwhile, Davao’s Lucas Revilleza also made it to the finals as the third member of the South squad after topping the boys’ 7-10 category with another 73 for 146. He won over Ethan Lago by eight shots, as Lago closed with a 76.
The victory brought Revilleza’s points total to 39, placing him third in the overall rankings behind James Barnes (45) and Lago (42). Kvan Alburo claimed the fourth and final Finals berth with 34 points, despite skipping the last two legs.
In the 54-hole girls’ 15-18, Cebu’s Tashanah Balangauan moved closer to back-to-back victories after a second straight 71 for a 142. Precious Zaragosa struggled for the second day with another 76 to be 10 strokes off. Breanna Rojas remained third after an 86.
