Pilipinas Aguilas bow to Korea Tigers in tackle football

MANILA, Philippines - The Korea Tigers charged back in the second half then foiled the Club Pilipinas Aguilas’ fightback in the stretch to pound out a 38-33 victory in the Philippines-Korean Cup tackle football friendly at the Emperador Stadium in McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio recently.

Behind kicker DJ Mello, the Aguilas took the half at 23-16, fell behind at resumption at 30-26 then regained a 33-30 lead as runningback Johnny Babaran set up WR Emilio Lim for a 30-yard touchdown that sent the crowd into a frenzy.

But the Tigers surprised the hosts with a trick play that left the Korean runningback all by himself with a 50-yard TD for a 38-33 lead.

The Aguilas actually still had a chance to score a touchdown but the Tigers flashed their experience in closing out matches, stopping all four downs of the Aguilas possession and forcing a turnover to seal the victory.

Still, the Aguilas, with just a month of preparation from a new coaching staff, proved their worth as they slugged it out inch-by-inch, yard-by-yard with experienced foreign teams of tackle football.

Aguilas’ other backers were Emperador Light, Citylink, Aguila Auto Glass, The Food Club, Eum-ma-ne Modern Korean Restaurant, Marciano’s Pasta Pizza and Steaks, Skippy’s Bar and Grill and The Philippine STAR.

The Koreans jumped the gun early on the Aguilas, scoring first with a TD run in their very first drive but Babaran surprised the Tigers with a TD run of his own in the red zone, escaping three defenders to close the gap at 7-8.