Mars Pucay heads the Philippine campaign in the Asian Tour’s Bangkok Airways Open, which starts today at the Santiburi Samui Country Club in Koh Samui, Thailand.

Pucay, the runner-up in the Mercedes-Benz (MB) Masters Philippines at the Tagaytay Midlands a week ago, is picked as the Filipino to peak the most in the $300,000 tournament, the 16th on the current Tour. Korean Lee Sung is the defending champion.

Pucay will be joined by Asian Tour regulars Juvic Pagunsan, Antonio Lascuna, Jerome Delariarte and Benjie Magada, plus invites Marlon Dizon, Cookie La’O, Marvin Dumandan, Cassius Casas and Jay Bayron.  Angelo Que, the Philippine Open titlist, is not competing this week.

The 38-year-old Pucay, a former driving range tee boy in Baguio City, led three-fourths of the way in the MB Masters but faltered in the last nine holes and lost by two strokes.  At the Bangkok Airways Open, he is hoping for some consistency in his short game and putting.

“I got a little careless at the Tagaytay Midlands.  I must avoid losing focus because, otherwise, I’ll be in trouble again here,” Pucay told the BusinessMirror.

Lascuna, who came charging back in the final round also at the BM Masters but eventually lost steam, knows he is hitting solid shots and has gotten much headway in the last few months.

“Like what Mars [Pucay] said, consistency is key this week.  I have been great off the tees but miserable on the putting green,” said Lascuna.

Lot of love and a lot more hate

If, as Jerry West says, the National basketball Association’s (NBA) greatest rivalry wasn’t a rivalry at first since the Lakers never won in the ‘60s and the Boston Celtics never lost, it already seemed bigger than mere life or death, at least in West’s life.

Pacman’s road to greatness unfinished

Bob Arum is largely credited for honing raw potential into ring legends by featuring them in marquee matchups he deftly set up through his Top Rank Inc. outfit.

A ONE-OF-A-KIND opening ceremonies will usher in the 71st season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), which starts off with the men’s basketball tournament on July 5 at the Araneta Coliseum.

ALEX PAGULAYAN shoots for a title on home soil since winning the World Pool Masters in the Cebu leg of the first Senate President Manny Villar Cup at The Atrium of SM City Cebu from June 20 to 22.

Mars Pucay heads the Philippine campaign in the Asian Tour’s Bangkok Airways Open, which starts today at the Santiburi Samui Country Club in Koh Samui, Thailand.

THE Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP) went on with its national congress Wednesday at the Century Park Hotel and elected its own 25-man board of trustees which the group intended to be the genuine BAP-Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (BAP-SBP).

ABOUT the renewed rivalry between the Lakers and the Celtics, I am absolutely speechless.

I think I saw the handwriting on the wall, read it in tea leaves and discerned it from runes and animal innards since a few months back and hoped to the highest heavens that it would come true.