Dominant Northerners run away with second straight ‘Elite’ title
Dominant as pairs and overpowering individually, Team North on Thursday applied the finishing touches to a great week by routing the Southerners in Singles to win the ICTSI Junior PGT Elite Finals for the second straight year while doing it away from the comforts of a home course.
“This victory means so much,” non-playing skipper Joey Anciano said after a 14.5-9.5 victory in the Singles at Pueblo de Oro in Cagayan de Oro that made for a 29-19 romp and a successful title defense. “We were able to prove to ourselves that no matter where we [played], it really comes down to our talent and skill.”
Jaicee Cervantes touched off the rout with a 7&5 ripping of Blake Aguilar in girls’ 7-10 as the North won the next six matches, before Jehanne Mendoza drained a five-foot putt on the 18th for a 1-up win over Akeisha Yocte that clinched the win.
“We started slow, but with God’s grace, we had the lead at the turn,” Anciano added. “It was unexpected. The South team was very strong, and their lineup was individually very strong, so we weren’t expecting anything.
“We just had to come here, play our game and take it one hole at a time.”
The North needed just 10 points to clinch the tie after coming into the day with a 19.5-14.5 lead.
But the Northerners pushed the pedal to the metal on a hot and humid day, as 15-18 boys’ ace Shin Suzuki ripped Roman Tiongko, 3&2, to be undefeated for three days like Cervantes and Zoji Edoc, the boys’ 7-10 standout who scored a 2-up win over Ethan Lago.
“The key was knowing your role,” Anciano said. “In match play, obviously, there are players who lose and players who win. But knowing your role as a team is very, very important.”
“You win as a team, you lose as a team. That’s what we did, and we were happy to get the result.”
Lisa Sarines, the 14-year-old who ruled the National Strokeplay Championship just three weeks ago, scored a 2&1 win over gritty Cebuano Lois Lane Go for the final point of the tie.
After the key Cervantes win, Team North still went on to win four and notch a split in the last eight matches, underscoring the determination the squad took with it to unfamiliar territory.
Princess Zaragosa, the runner-up to Grace Quintanilla in the National Match Play Championship two weeks ago, scored a 3&2 win over Mona Sarines, with Ralph Batican and Jared Saban also pulling out victories, 3&1 over Vito Sarines and 2-up over Chan Ahn, respectively.
