Manila, Philippines - Alia FC-Zamboanga City crushed Stonefield FC, 11-0, last Wednesday to remain in contention in the Western Mindanao cluster qualifiers of the Smart Club Championships at the Pagadian football field in Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur.
E. dela Cruz (eighth, 11th and 51st minutes) and J. Jacinto (76th, 79th and 88th) each had a hat trick in powering the Alia booters to their first win in two outings in the tourney sponsored by Smart and organized by the Philippine Football Federation.
Alia earlier absorbed a 0-1 loss last Tuesday to Bric-a-Brac FC, which emerged victorious through Aries Sudiang’s lone marker in the 67th minute.
DMC FC-Dipolog topped Ozamis-Dipolog, 3-1, to also pick up its first win in the four-team competition to decide the squad that will advance to the all-Mindanao regionals scheduled May 4-6 in Davao City.
Zadloven Turea (35th), Eduard Alforque (82nd) and Orlie Ponce (86th) scored DMC’s goals while Roncim Emperio (44th) was credited for Ozamis’ single marker.
Opening today at the University of Makati football field is the National Capital Region qualifying tournament with Pasargad, Pachanga, Air Force and Teknika vying for the two NCR slots in the Smart Club semifinals.
Two teams each from Mindanao, Visayas, Luzon and NCR will see action in the semis with the top two teams from the phase advancing to the home-and-away championship round.