Soaring finish by Airmen for third Globe crown

Philippine Air Force stressed its dominance in the local men’s football horizon Sunday by crushing UP Diliman, 5-0, to bag its third Globe Telecom SuperCup crown in four years at the Philsports (ULTRA) field in Pasig City.

Edzel Bracamonte and Raymond Tonog sparked the Airmen’s dominating performance by scoring two goals apiece.

Bracamonte opened the scoring by knocking in the ball over the goalkeeper’s outstretched hands in the 20th, and then made it 2-0 with another marker 10 minutes later.

Tonog converted a penalty kick early in the second half before Yanti Bersales, who was eventually named the tournament’s most valuable player, broke away in the 65th minute to make it 4-0. Tonog finalized the scoring with his second goal late in the match. For its victory in the tourney managed by the NCRFA and supported by Globe Telecom, Mikasa, Prestige Cars, Libis, Zeno Bar and Goodyear, the Airmen received a cash prize of P70,000.

One of the tourney’s biggest surprises was Air Force’s winning the Fair Play Award, given to the team with the least number of bookings. This was a testament to the commitment of team manager Col. Romeo Alamillo and coaches Mario Bronda and Herman Bingcang.

Bob Salvacion of UP was named best coach in recognition of the Maroons’ being the first non-Armed Forces football club to play in the Globe Telecom SuperCup finals.

The individual awardees were PAF’s Bersales, MVP; Raymond Tonog, best midfielder; and Edmundo Mercado, best goalkeeper; and UP’s Ariel Zerrudo, best striker; and Andres Gonzales, best defender