The Central Visayas secondary football team, manned by booters from the University of San Jose Recoletos with coaches Rommel Ramirez (extreme right) and Joselito Bono (extreme left). | contributed photo
Cebu City, Philippines—The Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) secondary and elementary football teams kept their gold medal hopes alive by advancing to the semifinal round on Wednesday, May 1, 2019 in the ongoing Palarong Pambansa in Davao City.
The University of San Jose Recoletos (USJ-R)-manned Central Visayas secondary football team clinched a semifinals slot after edging Northern Mindanao, 1-0.
While it is the first time that USJ-R is carrying the name of Central Visayas, its players are not first-times in the multi-sporting event. Most of them have won the elementary football title back when they were still in their elementary years.
The team is manned by 13 booters from USJ-R—Renz Miko Murillo, Christian Vierh Agot, Jan Ian Piolo Alinsugay, Churchill Jubac, Januar James Villarin, Angelo Colina, Louis Adrian Colina, Kenneth Ace Niaga, Dustin Drey Ramirez, Franco dela Torre, Arcangelo Manlosa, Carmelo Lim and JC Miguel Banzon.
They also have pick-ups—Jascha Tabar of the University of San Carlos, John Veloso of the Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu, Glen Ladin Dabon of Abellana National School and Delhonor Maglasang and Junrey Calimposan of Don Bosco Boys Home in Liloan.
The Don Bosco Technical College (DBTC)-manned elementary football team, on the other hand, stayed unbeaten and advanced to the semifinals via a 3-1 outsmarting of the National Capital Region (NCR).
In the semifinals, USJ-R will face NCR in the high school division while DBTC takes on Northern Mindanao in the elementary competition.
All semifinals matches will be held Thursday afternoon, May 2, 2019. /bmjo