28
SPECTATOR
By Al Mendoza
I’M back from Bacolod where I
had fond memories again.
I’ve been there a thousand and
one times, I guess; still, each time, it
felt like heaven.
Never did I lose the itch to be
Bacolod-bound.
Always, it’d be a thrill the minute
I had the chance to fly there.
Both my kumpadres Mon Datol
of Toronto and Reyfort Fortaleza of
Vancouver know that fully well.
Reyfort I had the happy occasion
again to be with in Bacolod during the
recent PAL Interclub Media Golf.
He played well in Round 1
to be included in the premiere
Championship flight, but faltered in
Roud 2 to fall in the middle of the 20-
man pack.
“I don’t know what happened to
me in the second round,” Reyfort
rued. “My game simply fell apart.”
That’s golf.
Anyway, my love affair with
Bacolod began the day I set foot there
when I was in college.
It wasn’t that long ago. Ahem!
I was then a campus journalist/
delegate to the annual College Editors
Guild of the Philippines in Bacolod’s
West Negros College.
First time for me to board a ship
then from Manila to Visayas.
I practically gulped gin to
hopefully kill seasick. Played Lucky 9
on the side.
Didn’t work.
Almost all night, I was puking.
I fell asleep from weakness.
When I woke up the morning
after, we were already in Bacolod.
Immediately, hangover and all, I
fell in love with the place.
Good food. Good folks. Good
company.
Years later, when I got back to
Bacolod, I had actually wanted to
relocate there.
I don’t know.
Maybe it’s the alimusan? Vulgan?
Batchoy? Kansi? Batuwan? Callos?
Laksa? Goat caldereta? Durian?
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY March 16 - 31, 2018
Bacolod beauty amid PAL
Interclub wars
Marang?
Piaya? Or sinamak?
As the years went by, my romance
with Bacolod had become all the more
passionate—especially in the years
following the friendship I had struck
with Ramon & May Uy.
They’ve become more than
friends with my loved ones like Sol—
Ramon & May being the nicest guys
Bacolod has ever produced.
They pride in owning picturesque
May’s Organic Garden, an exotic
getaway in Brgy. Pahanocoy south of
Bacolod.
Pahanocoy by the bay has that
sky-blue Olympic-sized pool that
is surrounded by quaint flora and
fauna.
The couple’s May’s Organic
Garden boasts of organically grown
vegetation that offers a veritable feast
to the naked eye.
This is on top of Ramon’s state-
of-the-art solar-powered water system
efficiently operating in the area.
Ramon’s solar system ably
backstops his shredder technology,
his nationally acclaimed invention as
a waste/organic fertilizer management
partner.
Already, first-time visitors to the
couple’s paradise, like Senators Angara
and Cynthia Villar, among others, have
become instant admirers.
Consistently
now,
they
unabashedly recommend a must-trip
to the couple’s place for would-be
first-time Bacolod visitors.
Me, too.
As I did when I went there only a
while back to play in the PAL Media
Golf.
Also, I covered the 71st PAL
Interclub Golf under the usual able
stewardship of PAL president Jaime
J. Bautista.
My felicitations go to Manila
Southwoods for winning the premiere
Men’s Regular crown for the fourth
straight year, with Luisita and
Canlubang finishing second and third,
respectively.
But Canlubang won dramatically
in the Seniors division over dethroned
champion Luisita. Del Monte wound
up third.
Ding Marcelo and Jun Engracia
finished equal first in the PAL Media
Golf.
Me? Proudly, I finished third.
Practice I had practically none.
Isn’t lack of preparation the best
formula for failure?
Next year, watch out.
****************************
7-foot-1 Sotto stars in Eaglets’
victory
ATENEO just won the UAAP
junior basketball crown over National
University (NU) but not after Kai Sotto
imposed his 7-foot-1 frame and
SJ Belangel uncorked his patented
finishing kick.
With the score tied at 58-58 time
down to 25.3 seconds, Sotto scored
on a foul-baiting putback following a
missed drive by Belangel.
Sotto completed the three-point
play for Ateneo’s 61-58 advantage.
Before Sotto’s go-ahead
points, Belangel opened Ateneo’s
championship door with his own
three-point blast to tie the count at
58-58.
Not content with his heroics,
Belangel, the amazing 5-foot-11
find from Bacolod who is due to join
Ateneo’s college team this season,
went for his usual daredevil drive.
Although he missed it, Belangel,
18, drew a foul.
Bucking nerves, Belangel buried
his two pressure-packed charities
for the final 63-58 Ateneo victory,
securing their first title in three years.
The win also made Ateneo a rare
double champion after the Eagles had
earlier pocketed the UAAP seniors
basketball crown, beating arch-rival
La Salle in the finals.
Only 15, Sotto still has three
more years of stay in the Ateneo junior
ranks.
With his vast talents, he is
predicted to lead the Eaglets to more
victories.
The good thing about Sotto is,
Codinera’s legacy lives on
Now that Adamson University has
ruled both the UAAP men’s baseball
and women’s softball tournaments,
its third in 31 years, not a few savants
sat down trying to decide who was the
most valuable Falcon in the history of
the school.
That’s quite easy.
The most artful Falcon of them all
no longer hit a homer with the bases
loaded, stole home in a champion-
ship game, struck the side out with
the tying run on third or got long-time
buddy and rival Baby Manzanares to
pop out with the game or the title on
the line.
In fact, the most valuable indi-
vidual never played an inning decade
since ending his playing career. All
he had been doing was made out a
lineup, moved an infield in, charted
plays that gifted Adamson seven
UAAP baseball championships and
four softball pl