Three years ago, the University of San Carlos (USC) ended a five-year drought bybeating the University of Southern Philippines Foundation (USPF) via a penalty shootout. Fast forward to the present, the Warriors once again frustrated the Panthers by clinching the 2014 Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (CESAFI) Tertiary Football title via the same fashion—a penalty shootout, 5-3.
In the following match, Don Bosco Technology Center (DBTC) seems to be on its way to once again dominating the CESAFI Secondary Football after defending its title against fierce rival, the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu, 2-1.
Goalie Jupre Aparece and JS Christian Paulo Saguin were the heroes for USC, which relegated the Panthers to the 1st runner-up for the fourth time since the tournament’s inception in 2000.
New coach Mario Ceniza said that before the shootout, he told Aparece that he would forget all his anger for the goalie’s mistakes in the match if he could save one or two goals, and it worked.
Ceniza is a rookie coach. Interestingly, he and USPF head coach Eleazar “Elying” Toledo used to be team captains of USC back in their university days.
Aparece stopped the penalty kick of Christian Millebo that gave USC a 2-1 advantage in the shootout.
It was unfortunate for Millebo who started the ball rolling for USPF when he scored the match’s first goal in the 16th minute.
Saguin, for his part, sent the USC supporters jumping to their feet in jubilation when his attempt found the back of the net to seal the win for the Warriors at 5-3.
It had looked like the Panthers would break the pattern when they led by as much as 3-1 with a little more than 20 minutes to go but errors in man-to-man markings allowed USC to score back-to-back goals in a span of 10 minutes and send the match into extension with the regulation ending in 3-all.
It was quite a comeback for USC with Ceniza admitting that he had already despaired as the team stared at a two-point deficit.
The first half had ended at 2-1 with George Laurence De Pablos scoring the first of his two goals in the 36th minute.
In the second half, he gave USPF the 3-1 advantage when he scored his second goal using his body to propel the ball inside the net during a goalmouth scramble.
USC’s Janiurius Paglinawan then shaved off USPF’s lead down to one with his goal before the match got interrupted by a near fistfight that was prevented by the proverbial cooler heads.
When the match resumed a few minutes later with several players from both teams handed a yellow card, Jan Carlo Encorporado brought the match back to square one with his goal in the added minutes.
Scorers for USC in the penalty shootout were Miguel Kwan, Encorporado, John Daniel Caballero, Paglinawan and Saguin.
USPF scorers were Janry Acaso, Jephunneh Pelanio and Lloyd Kevin Abare.
SECONDARY CHAMPIONSHIPS
DBTC showed that it is still the team to beat in the CESAFI after defending its title against SHS-AdC.
DBTC only missed the secondary title twice since this tournament’s inception in 2000. First in 2010 when the team was forced to sacrifice its semifinal match due to a conflict of schedule with the Cebu City Olympics and in 2012 when SHS-AdC lambasted them in the finals 4-1.
The Greywolves’ tight defense scattered the Magis Eagles’ game with Kintaro Miyagi, one of SHS-AdC’s top goalscorers, not able to get a break with as much as four opponent’s guarding him.
Miyagi is a defender but of late, he has been very effective as a center-forward.
SHS-AdC’s first and lone goal was scored via a penalty kick taken by team captain JM Kwan in the 34th minute which resulted from a hard tackle against Bertram Musni.
In a funny turn of events, DBTC was able to level the match in the second half also via a penalty kick taken by team captain Moiselle Angelo Alforque in the 47th minute.
The second half also saw DBTC upping up its game with back-to-back attempts at goal with the first attempt taken by Vincent Erick “Ngitz” Lovitos, a direct kick which he failed to convert.
Jon Joseph Rena sealed the win for DBTC with his goal in the 51st minute.
Miyagi, Alforque and Lovitos have played for the national junior teams U-14 and U-16.
Prior to the championship matches, USJ-R took third place in the Tertiary division with a 2-1 win over the University of Cebu (UC).
