Perry's Group/TV Shop and Ecostrong square off for the coveted title in the 10th Orchard Intra Club Golf League after disposing separate rivals in dramatic fashion in the semifinals held over the weekend at the Orchard Golf and Country Club.
Regarded as the clear favorite to win this year’s crown, the top-seeded Perry’s Group and SAGO Rover finished tied with 5 match points, with the former needing two extra holes in the playoff to earn the first finals slot.
Ecostrong, meanwhile, averted sudden death as Digoy Esguerra holed in a pressure-packed six-foot putt for par on the 18th of Palmer to lift his team to victory over M.A.E.L.S. and complete a comeback including crucial wins in the eliminations.
“It is going to be an exciting finale as both teams look evenly matched. It will boil down to who wants it more,” said Orchard General Manager Nilo Famy, who was happy with the turnout of 344 players and 13 teams participating.
Although Perry’s Group finished the elimination round at the helm with 37 match points, team captain Louie Garcia said his team is not the “clear favorite.”
“All the teams played really well and for us, every game was a different challenge. And we took it one game at a time. Team strategies have been good so far especially in planning the line-ups,” said Perry’s Group skipper Louie Garcia.
For Ecostrong, it was an uphill climb. It was at 11th place with four games left in the elims. But it pulled it off, winning emphatically specially in the last two and reached its target.
“We still have to slug it out in the finals to fully achieve our goal,” Ecostrong manager Gino Olivares explained.
The first round of the finals is at the Player course then at the Palmer course on Sunday, the same day that the battle for second runner-up between SAGO Rover and M.A.E.L.S will take place at Player course.