MANOLO FORTICH, Bukidnon -- Eastridge drew a pair of 37s from Edison Tabalin and Ronel Taga-an to hold Del Monte at bay halfway through the 75th Philippine Airlines Men’s Interclub golf team championships on Saturday.
Playing on Del Monte’s home course, Eastridge pooled 107 points to draw level with Del Monte with identical 211 points, eight points clear of defending champion Manila Southwoods.
Tabalin, one of six Davao players on the team, collected five birdies against four bogeys while Taga-an had four birdies against three bogeys.
Eastridge’s third scorer was Alexander Bisera who carded 33 points.
"The boys were fired up,” said Eastridge team captain Gimo Asuncion. “There will be a few adjustments for tomorrow’s round. Still two days to go. Anything can still happen. We hope and pray we finish strong.”
Jovencio Lusterio, atoning for his poor play at Pueblo de Oro on Friday, led Del Monte with 39 points on the strength of four birdies against a lone bogey.
Romeo Jaraula added 34 and Xhylas Luzon chipped in 29 as Del Monte finished the day with 102 points.
Manila Southwoods, riding on the strong play of pro-bound Aidric Chan and Ryan Monsalve, matched Eastridge’s 107, an 11-point improvement from Friday’s 96 points at Pueblo de Oro.
Chan posted 37 points while Monsalve salvaged 36. Lanz William Uy rounded out scoring with 34.
South Pacific was a far fourth with 171 points.
Meanwhile, Cebu Country Club continued to show the way in the Founder’s division, pooling 96 points for 194.
Peter Tyler Po III led CCC with 34 points with Mark Anthony Dy and Bayani Jess Garcia contributing 31 apiece.
Five points back was Valley Golf which collected 96 points from Damas Wong (33), Marvin Mendoza (32) and Kirby Lachica (31).
Nine shots off the pace was Del Monte Team 2 which leaned on a pair of 33s from Miguel Linaac and Julius Langamin. The 29 of either Crispin Aparilla or Belly Vidal counted.
Canlubang was running third with 182 followed by Riviera Golf and Pueblo de Oro with 181 and 179, respectively.
The other division leaders were Tagaytay Midlands in Aviator and San Juanico Golf Park and Country Club in Sportswriters.
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.
Joining the event as silver sponsors are ABS-CBN Global, Radio Mindanao Network and Philippine National Bank.
VISA is a minor sponsor while Must Glow is joining as a donor.
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