Iloilo XI crushes CebuFA to retain PFF U-17 crown

Heading into the final battle, the Cebuano booters need to win against defending champion Iloilo by at least two goals to fulfill their championship dream.

The result turned out to be the other way around, even worse than expected.

This as the ferocious Iloilo squad spared no mercy in pulling off a 5-0 shutout of host Cebu Football Association (CebuFA) to successfully defend its title in the PFF Visayas Regional Football Under-17 Championships yesterday at the Sacred Heart School-Jesuit field in Cebu Business Park.

The loss relegated Cebu to third place, the same position it got last year.

It was a close encounter at the start with neither side scored in the first 35 minutes of play.

All of a sudden, Iloilo's Jovic Bedic caught fire and knocked in back-to-back goals in just a three-minute span that left the entire CebuFA crew and its small throng of spectators flabbergasted in disbelief.

Bedic's second conversion came from a long shot. As the ball rolled gently towards the goal, Cebu's goalkeeper Jose Paolo Pascual tried hard to go for a save but his efforts went in vain.

Down by two points going into the final half, coach Mario Ceniza instructed his wards not to panic and even with some players suffering an injury, he tried to lift heir spirits up.

"Play for pride. Let's go. Don't panic, we need you," Ceniza told his wards on the field.

But Ceniza's words of encouragement didn't produce any positive effects on his wards, who eventually bowed down to a more composed and decisive Ilongo visitors.

Jomar Lestingio further dealt a crushing blow on CebuFA by firing in two consecutive goals at the 54th and 74th, before Bedic completed a hat-trick to seal Iloilo's spectacular triumph. - with Marigold P. Lebumfacils