Pila, Gabasa share MVPSF match play honors

Rolando Pila fought back from three holes down in morning play then unleashed a strong finishing kick to turn back Harvey Sytiongsa, 2-up, while Junia Gabasa outlasted Pamela Mariano to fashion out a 5&4 triumph in the finals of the fourth MVPSF Visayas Regional Match Play Championships at Cebu Country Club on Friday.

Pila struggled in the early going of their marathon 36-hole duel and still trailed his fellow club bet by three with only 10 holes left. But he birdied Nos. 9 and 11 to pull within, yielded another hole on the 12th but took three straight holes from No. 14 to go 1-up before birdying the last hole to complete a come-from-behind 2-up victory in men’s play.