STA. ROSA, Laguna – Zach Villaroman and Jakob Taruc came through in the clutch, salvaging a tie in the final pairing to help Team North escape with a 6 1/2-5 1/2 victory over Team South in Thursday’s Foursomes of the ICTSI Elite Junior Finals.
The tightly contested match-up capped a rollercoaster Day 2 in this Ryder Cup-style event, showcasing the country’s finest junior golfers at the sun scorched and pristine fairways of The Country Club.
With the team standings at 14-9 heading into the final match, South’s Eric Jeon and Mhark Fernando III looked poised to deliver a crucial point, taking a 1-up lead to the 18th. But on the challenging par-4 finishing hole, Fernando’s 3-iron approach into a stiff headwind found the pond, opening the door for Villaroman and Taruc to steal a half-point with a steady par. They delivered, reaching the green in two and two-putting to snatch the tie and hike Team North’s lead, 14 1/2-9 1/2.
South shows fight
While Team North built on its 8–4 four-ball win from Tuesday to take early control, Team South mounted a fiery comeback, winning key matches late in the day.
Earlier in the day, North captured six of the first 11 matches, threatening to pull away. But South clawed back in the boys’ 7-10 division with a clean sweep, while also notching pivotal wins in the 11-14 and 15-18 categories. Ralph Batican and Marcus Dueñas exacted revenge on Vito Sarines and Ryuji Suzuki, 2-up, in boys’ 11-14, while Lucas Revilleza and James Rolida stormed back from behind to edge Halo Pangilinan and Asher Abad, 1-up. Ethan Lago and Kvan Alburo also repeated their dominance with a 2&1 victory over Zach Guico and Zoji Edoc in the youngest age category.
In the girls’ side, South’s 15-18 pairs flexed their experience and chemistry once more. Crista Miñoza and Precious Zaragosa cruised to a 3&2 victory, while Tashanah Balangauan and Mikela Guillermo secured a 4&3 rout.
Despite South’s late charge, Team North found strength in its younger divisions. The girls’ 7-10 duo of Winter Serapio and Ronee Dungca remained untouchable, dispatching Soleil Molde and Denise Mendoza in just two and a half hours with a commanding 7&6 victory. Minutes later, Mavis Espedido and Tyra Garingalao matched the feat against Claren Quiño and Francesca Geroy.
The back-to-back sweeps from Serapio-Dungca and Espedido-Garingalao – who also won convincingly on Day 1 – gave North critical breathing room heading into Friday’s singles.
North also benefited from new pairings in the girls’ 11-14 division, where Mona Sarines and Alexie Gabi edged out Brittany Tamayo and Kimberly Baroquillo, 1-up, and Lisa Sarines and Kendra Garingalao cruised to a 5&4 win over Rafella Batican and Zuri Bagaloyos.
In other boys’ matches, Zianbeau Edoc and Jacob Casuga held off Jared Saban and Ken Guillermo, 2-up, in 11-14 division, while Patrick Tambalque and Kristoffer Nadales outclassed Alexis Nailga and Armand Copok, 4&3, in the premier category.
With a five-point advantage after two days, North heads into Friday’s 24-match singles finale with a sturdy cushion. But both sides know all too well that the singles format is an entirely different arena – one that tests not only skill, but nerve, resilience and mental fortitude.
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