Top seed Rolando Bregente and No. 2 Shinichi Suzuki fashioned contrasting semifinal victories Friday to set up the much-anticipated championship showdown in the NGAP Match Play Championship at Luisita Golf and Country Club in Tarlac.
Suzuki leaned on his superior length and experience to end young sensation Ralph Batican’s impressive run with a 2and1 victory, while Bregente survived a late charge from Emilio Hernandez to escape with a tense 1-up decision as the week-long championship heads to a fitting finale between the tournament’s top two qualifiers from the 36-hole stroke play eliminations.
Bregente, the stroke play medalist, appeared headed for a comfortable victory before Hernandez mounted a spirited comeback, trimming a three-hole deficit to just one over the closing stretch. Forced to come through under pressure, Bregente responded with a crucial par on the 18th hole to finally seal the hard-earned win on the rain-softened Luisita layout.
“I really struggled to make putts, even from close range,” said the 24-year-old Bregente in Filipino after surviving one of his toughest matches of the week.
Suzuki, meanwhile, continued his steady march through the knockout phase, using his powerful drives and match play savvy to frustrate the 15-year-old Batican, whose giant-killing campaign included a stunning 4and2 quarterfinal victory over runaway Stroke Play champion Jet Hernandez.
The 18-year-old Suzuki controlled the match from the outset and never allowed Batican to build the momentum that fueled his upset of Hernandez.
Bregente expects another stern test in the final.
“It would really be an interesting match,” he said of Suzuki. “He outhits me by a considerable distance. It’s going to be a tough match.”
In the women’s division, Precious Zaragosa rallied over the closing holes to defeat Lisa Sarines, 2-up, and arrange a championship duel with top seed Grace Quintanilla.
Like Bregente, Zaragosa is seeking her first Match Play crown and first national title, but faces a daunting challenge against the in-form Quintanilla, who recently captured the Singapore Amateur Open championship.
“I am super excited to play in the finals,” said the 15-year-old Zaragosa, who seized control by winning three straight holes starting at No. 15 to spoil Sarines’ bid for a rare double after the latter captured the Stroke Play Championship at Pradera Verde last week.
Zaragosa delivered the decisive blow with a pinpoint tee shot on the demanding par-3 17th, converting a birdie from pin-length range to move 1-up before closing out the match on the next hole.
Quintanilla, meanwhile, turned in another commanding performance, routing Nicole Gan, 4and2, to stay on course for yet another major amateur title and complete the women’s championship pairing.