Week nd CdO booters shine
YOUNG footballers from Cagayan de Oro recently had decent performances in the recently concluded prestigious Pinas Football Cup held at the Clark Development Corp. football pitches in Angeles, Pampanga.
The Blue Knights FC of Davao,which was beefed up by players from Rosevale School Lyle Dy, JL Cascara, Dave Mendoza, John Gementiza, and Ino Butaslac, impressed when they won the Plate title in the Boys 14 Division.
Plate competitions were for the runner-up teams among the four groups of the division.
The Blue Knights finished second in Group C with three wins, one draw and one loss slate in this 11-A-side tournament. They won over Cebu Global FC, 7-1, and Sagay FC, 2-1, and against Gawad Kalinga FC, 3-1. They however drew with Soliman FC, 1-1 and bowed to eventual champions and former Little Azkals backed Dreaming United FC.
They then whipped GOM Center of Excellence 4-0 in the Plate competition semis. They then captured the Plate trophy when they nipped Sagay FC, 2-1 in the final.
CdO’s biggest football club Higala FC was also impressive in the Boys 14 and Boys 12 categories but failed to win titles. The Higala boys advanced to the semis when they finished their group with three wins, and one loss slate. They however, lost to Dreaming United FC, 0-1 in the semis. Dreaming United FC went on to win the title with a 3-0 victory over the Blue Eagles in the final.
Aside from winning the title, DUFC player Michael Osorio ran away with the MVP award. The now Canada based Osorio, just came to the Philippine to compete in the four-day tournament organized by the Manila Soccer Academy. Osorio was a member of the Little Azkals team which trained at the Loughborough University in 2014.
The Higala FC boys 12 team reached the final of the Plate competition but lost to the Makati Football Club 0-4. They advanced to the final when they downed Luenthai Football School, 1-0, in the semis.
The Higala boys finished the elimination round with two wins, one draw and one loss slate. They won over Azul Club de Futbol, 1-0, and against SPCIS United FC, 3-0. They then drew with Atletico Diliman, 1-1 and bowed to Don Bosco Cebu, 2-0. (l.biantan@ gmail.com)