It felt good last Sunday to smell the grass and see the goalposts when I attended the brief and simple opening rites of the 9th National Inter-club Football Cup at the University of San Carlos-Talamban Campus field.
It has been some time since I’ve donned soccer shoes. In fact, I have given away the few pairs that I owned when I was found to have a herniated disc (L-4) about a year and a half ago.
I still have a pair of shoes for futsal (indoor football), which felt a bit weird when I wore them to the field just to be with good old friends from the Cebu Amateur Football Club (CAFC), which has organized this tournament for the past nine years.
This year, CAFC president Glenn ‘Shido’ Quisido said that a total of 36 teams are seeing action in the various divisions. Other CAFC members like tournament chairman Gregorio ‘Goryo’ Balsicas III, Christopher Vivo Castaño, Patrio ‘Dondon’ Ramos, Archt. Peter Bordador, Francis ‘Itom’ Ramirez, and Raffy Musni were also around.
There were also my teammates from the Queen City United Team B, whose rivalry with our team A, is always one of the highlights of the tournament.
What was most touching for me last Sunday was when Shido presented me with my team uniform, which I may not be able to wear yet on the field, but will proudly wear off it as tribute to my buddies in the CAFC and QCU.
Football is alive and well in Cebu thanks to men like you and to Team Cebu City Football Director Engr. Ricky Dakay.
My fervent dream is to once again don my goalkeeper’s gear even in a practice game.
Those who wish to watch more action of the tournament, proceed to the USC-TC, San Roque Parish Field and the Springdale Field for the competitions of the different age categories.
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The Efraim Genuino’s Cup last Saturday at Alta Vista was a huge success with all slots of the tournament taken based on the tee time schedule that was posted at the registration counter.
I still have to get an official copy of the results, which seems to need a few signatures from inside the Pagcor before they can be released for public consumption.
While the giveaways and the raffle prizes are what makes about 95 percent of any field happy and the trophies and additional prizes for the winners, the people you get to play with almost always make or break your day on the course.
If you happen to be with these guys – Willy T. Go, Cristino Lim, and Jonathan Yu, you surely are in for a great round.
Well maybe not exactly that you can maintain a great start of the round, but one thing that will surely happen for the entire 18 holes and even after it at the clubhouse is the great company.
That’s speaking from experience after finding my tournament end on the fifth hole.
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MILESTONES: Belated happy birthday greetings go to Serge Biscocho, Jr., waterfront’s Lara Naomi Verdan-Agua, and Cecilia Evardo, who all turned a year older last Monday.
Belated greetings also go to Mark Garcia and my mistah, compadre and Delta companymate Cdr. Robert Patrimonio of the Phil. Coast Guard, who celebrated yesterday.
More power to all of you!