CEBU, Philippines – Sacred Heart School — Jesuit 3 (SHS-J) and Don Bosco Technology Center 1 (DBTC) took the first titles at stake in the 2009 CAFC National Inter-Club Football Championship.
The young booters from SHS-J came all they way from third place in the semifinal to surprise Canduman 2-0 to win the U12 title yesterday at the PAREF Springdale football pitch.
In the other final match, DBTC 1 handily took the U10 title by thrashing another Canduman team 7-2 in the same pitch.
SHS-J3 scored two goals early in the first half then played tenacious defense the rest of the way to earn the victory.
The first goal for SHS-J came in the ninth minute when Mark Veloso sneaked in a free kick. Two minutes later, Kiko Villamor made it 2-0 with perfect kick.
Villamor ended up with the MVP trophy in the division. The young player had a monster game in the semifinals where he helped his team rise from third place in the semis into the final.
Canduman tried to play aggressively for the rest of the game but they couldn’t force any weakness in the defense put up by SHS-J.
DBTC took a 3-1 first half lead despite playing without Coach Glenn Ramos. When Ramos arrived, he asked his players why Canduman scored then ordered his players to make sure they won’t score again.
Canduman did score again; but DBTC found the goal for more times for a 7-2 victory.
Over at the USC field, the Army arranged a title showdown today with Queen City United (QCU) in the premiere men’s open division. The Army booters utilized its deep bench and experience to beat early title favorite Hiroshi 2-1.
QCU later punched the other final ticket by edging Cebu-ERCO 1-0 courtesy of Miysuo Tsuanakiri (formerly of Crazy Horse) as time expired.
Supporters of QCU said the Mitsuo was lucky he wasn’t called for off-side as he went for the goal. If he had been whistled, there would have been a penalty shootout.
Meanwhile, San Roque Football Club (SRFC) awaits the winner between Hiroshi and QCU for the 38-Above title. SRFC blasted its way into the final by drubbing the Army 6-2.
Over at the San Roque Football pitch, Pomeroy silenced DBTC 2-0 to set-up a championship match versus Davao in the boys’ U17 category. The latter blanked Springdale 1-0 to reach the final.
Pomeroy will gun for a second title, in the U14 division, against another DBTC team. Pomeroy beat Canduman 3-1 while DBTC ousted SHS-J 3-0. – THE FREEMAN