RP booters hold own against tall, tough rivals

Hardly having slept a wink, the Philippine team to the fifth Homeless World Cup arrived early morning yesterday from Melbourne, Australa and then shared brunch and their experiences with media and supporters at the Amici Restaurant in Makati City.

“They were really big. Against Nigeria, I was elbowed and saw stars,” said four-foot-11 Niña Versoza, one of two girls on the squad that went up against teams from 56 countries in an event meant to stir awareness for the poor and the homeless worldwide.

“We were surprised by the size of some of the teams. But my players showed a lot of fighting spirit during the later rounds, and we finally won,” said coach Jess Landagan, whose charges finished 37th overall with four wins, the last a 5-3 decision over Namibia.

Joining Landagan and the team members were Bill Shaw, who is the Philippine representative to the Homeless World Cup, his wife, photojournalist Debbi, Fr. Beng Molavin of Tuloy sa Don Bosco and Evangelina Lawas of Nayon sa Kabataan.

The Shaws, Fr. Molavin and Lawas acted the guardian-chaperones of the team that also include Nayon’s Ronron Longgakit, Arnold Villanueva, Maricel Quitoy, Russell Jacinto, and Ricky Elequio and Tuloy’s Jay-R de Jesus, Jeffrey Solis, Kevin Prix Logioy, Nomer Olivares and Christian Yves Caroro.

Also present was Fr. Rocky Evangelista, an avid football fan and founder of the Tuloy sa Don Bosco Foundation for street children.