Megafiber seizes lead, nears 2nd crown

BAGUIO, Philippines – Mari Hechanova fired 29 points as Megafiber assembled a 101 to wrest a four-point lead over Pugo Adventure and move closer to retaining its title in seniors Fil Championship of the 65th San Miguel Fil-Am Invitational golf tournament at the Baguio Country Club here yesterday.

With Rene Unson, Albert Garcia and Tony Olives backing Hechanova with 28, 23 and 21 points, respectively, Megafiber pulled ahead of Pugo Adventure with a 335 aggregate heading to the final 18 holes of the annual event.

Goodie Ignacio led Pugo with 26 points but Fred Puckett struggled at the shorter but tougher BCC layout with 25 after a 35 at John Hay. Ed Montenegro and Park Jong Won added 24 and 22, respectively, as Pugo, tied with Megafiber in the lead halfway through the event, totaled 331 after a 97.

“We are happy with our performance as a team and we hope to sustain it in the final round at BCC,” said Garcia, skipper of Megafiber.

But Puckett said Pugo will bounce back strong although he underscored the need for his teammates to play precision golf at BCC.

“We all played bad but still they (Megafiber) were not able to get away. It’s just four points,” said Puckett, two off Hechanova in the race for individual honors. Hechanova has a 91, one ahead of Unson while Puckett has an 89.

Nueva Ecija remained at third with a 325 tally after a 98 with Arnold Duay leading the charge with 29 points. Luis Laureta added a 26, Vidal Querol made a 22 while former Nueva Ecija governor Tomas Joson III tossed in 21 points.

Manila Southwoods shot the day’s best of 103 with Raul Olea firing 28 points and Herminio Maravilla, Cipriano Abdon and Florene delos Santos added 26, 25 and 24, respectively, for the team’s 321 aggregate.

PR Bank, meanwhile, closed out with a 72 for a 303 as it romped off with the Seniors Fil B crown with an eight-point win over Federation of Philippine Senior Golfers, which had a 295 after rallying with a 77.

Melecio Asis, Jr. and Noel Binag led the Isabela-based PR Bank led by former justice secretary Silvestre Bello, Jr., with 19 points. Former Department of Public Works and Highways – Cordillera former executive Willy Enciso had 18 markers while Ferdinand Ambatali added 16 points.

Apo Golf scored a 70 for a 281 to tie TNT, which made a 61.

Cesar Lacuna of Federation of Senior Golfers finished with 23 points and took the individual crown.

Club Intramuros saved its best for last as it outgunned two teams to rule Seniors Am B by five points.

Intramuros stood two behind Golf F/ Veterans and another point on erstwhile leader The Cliffs and Beach Club but outscored both in the final round with a 68 to finish at 250.

The all-American The Cliffs wound up with a 245 after a 62 while Golf F/Veterans fumbled with a 54 for a 245.